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UNIVERSITY  OF  CONNECTICUT 
STORRS.  CONNECTICUT 


A    HISTORY  OF    RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 


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RBISKY    KORSAKOFF. 


(By  kind  permission  of  M.  P.  Belaieff,  St.  Peter ><hiirf/.) 


A    HISTORY 

OF 

Russian  Music 


BEING  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  RISE 
AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  RUSSIAN 
SCHOOL  OF  COMPOSERS,  WITH 
A  SURVEY  OF  THEIR  LIVES  AND 
A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THEIR  WORKS 


BY 

M.  MONTAGU-NATHAN. 

Second  Edition  Revised 
and  Corrected 


London 
WILLIAM  REEVES,  %^  Charing  Cross  Road,  W,C. 


MCMXVIII 


roll 


To  E.  J. . 


Printed^TrhTNeTTempUPressTNorbof  y  Crescent,  Norbury,  S.W. 


PREFACE. 

WHEN  this  history  was  embarked  upon""'  the 
British  public  had  hitherto  manifested  but  a 
shght  interest  in  Russian  music,  and  the  output 
of  modern  Russian  composers  was  regarded  as  a  by- 
path remote  from  the  great  main  road  of  the  art.  In  the 
comparatively  short  interval  since  the  commencement 
of  this  work  (at  the  close  of  1912)  a  remarkable 
change  has  taken  place  and  there  is  now  to  be  observed 
a  widespread  and  ever  increasing  curiosity  in  regard  to 
Russian  music  of  all  kinds — a  spirit  of  inquiry  not  con- 
fined to  the  public  of  the  European  mainland  but  which 
happily  IS  as  keen  in  Great  Britain  as  anywhere. 

Music-lovers  have  apparently  resolved  to  make 
amends  for  their  long  neglect  of  the  Russian  school  by 
taking  every  opportunity  of  performing  or  listening  to 
Slavonic  music,  and  at  the  same  time  by  seeking  all  the 
available  knowledge  in  respect  of  those  masters  whose 
names  are  linked  with  the  glories  of  both  the  Moscow 
and  the  St.  Petersburg  schools  of  composition. 

But  while  the  demand  for  information  has  become 
more  and  more  insistent  the  supply  has  remained  sur- 
prisingly meagre  and  fitful.  From  time  to  time  the 
newspapers  have  devoted  space  to  articles  treating  of 
individual  Russian  composers  or  to  a  study  of  some 
particular  composition,  but  no  one  volume  has  as  yet 
been  dedicated  to  the  purpose  of  giving  a  connected 
account  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  Russian  school 
of  musicians. 

*  The  early  pages  appearing  in  "The  Musical  Standard." 


VI  PREFACE. 

The  present  book  has  been  undertaken  with  no  other 
object  than  to  fill  a  gap  which,  though  for  a  long  time 
ignored,  has  now  made  itself  apparent  to  many  musi- 
cians and  music-lovers. 

In  a  work  of  this  character  it  is  obviously  impossible 
to  include  a  comprehensive  survey  of  operas  such  as 
those  belonging  to  what  I  have  called  the  pre-Nation- 
alist  period.  And,  indeed,  when  my  early  chapters  were 
written — -at  a  date  prior  to  the  inaugural  season  of  Rus- 
sian opera  at  Drury  Lane — there  did  not  seem  to  be  the 
faintest  likelihood  that  Dargomij  sky's  "Russalka" 
would  ever  be  performed  in  England.  As  this  work, 
however,  has  now  figured  in  some  of  the  preliminary 
announcements  of  the  approaching  season,  I  am  insert- 
ing its  plot  in  an  appendix. 

I  have  now  to  make  my  acknowledgments  to  Mrs. 
Rosa  Newmarch,  whose  writings  on  various  Russian 
musical  and  literary  subjects  have  been  an  unfailing 
source  of  assistance;  to  Mr.  M.-D.  Calvocoressi,  whose 
contribution  to  the  literature  of  Russian  music  has  very 
greatly  aided  me;  and  to  Mr.  Edwin  Evans,  junior,  to 
whom  I  am  indebted  for  my  first  introduction  to  the 
Russian  school  of  composition. 

London,  May,  1914. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction 


PAGE 

I 


Part   I. 

THE    PRE-NATIONALISTS. 

I.  VoLKOFF,  Berezovsky,  Eortniansky  and 

Verstovsky        4 

II.  Glinka.    "A  Life  for  the  Czar"       ...  g 

III.  "RUSSLAN  AND  LUDMILLA"             20 

IV.  Dargomijsky          30 

V.  "The  Stone  Guest"  and  "The  Five"  38 

VI.  Seroff  and  Lvoff           45 


Part  II. 
THE    NATIONALISTS 


I.  Balakireff  ... 
XL  Cesar  Cui    . . . 
IIL  Borodin 

IV.   MOUSSORGSKY 

V.  "  Boris  Godounoff  " 
VI.  "  Khovanshchina  " 
VII.  The  Last  Phase    ... 
VIII.  Rimsky-Korsakoff 


63 

74 

86 

108 

131 
iSi 
167 
179 


VI 11  CONTENTS. 

Part  III. 
THE    DFXLINE    OF    NATIONALISM. 


I. 

Glazounoff           

PAGE 

II. 

LlADOFF    AND    LlAPOUNOFF              

250 

III. 

Arensky        

255 

IV. 

Tchaikovsky,  Rubinstein  and  the  Ec- 

lectics      

260 

V. 

Taneieff     

274 

Part   IV. 
THE    PRESENT    MOVEMENT. 

I.  Rachmaninoff       281 

II.  Gliere  and  Ippolitoff-Ivanoff  ...  287 

III.  SCRIABIN         292 

IV.  Vassilenko  and  Grechaninoff           ...  299 
V.  Akimenko,  Tcherepnin  and  Rebikoff  303 

VI.  Steinberg,  Medtner  and  Catoire       ...  307 

VII.  Stravinsky  311 

VIII.  Operatic  and  Concert  Enterprises  ...  317 


Appendix  I  325 

Appendix  II  335 


FRONTISPIECE :  Rimsky-Korsakoff. 


A  SHORT 
HISTORY  OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC 


INTRODUCTION. 

INHERE  IS  every  sign  that  the  music  of  Russia  is 
coming  into  its  own.  The  circumstance  of  its 
earlier  discovery  by  France  is  perhaps  due,  to  some 
extent,  to  the  fact  that  there  is  a  Hterature  of  the  sub- 
ject in  the  language  of  that  country — there  have,  at 
any  rate,  been  concerts  from  time  to  time  m  Pans 
which  have  been  devoted  to  the  music  of  Russia  and 
which  partook,  in  some  cases,  of  the  nature  of  festi- 
vals. In  1844  Berlioz  conducted  a  concert  in  which 
several  fragments  from  Glinka's  operas  were  played, 
and  later  Glinka  himself  gave  a  concert  of  which  the 
programme  consisted  entirely  of  works  from  his  own 
pen.  During  the  Paris  exhibitions  of  1878,  1889  and 
1900,  special  attention  was  paid  to  the  creations  of 
Russian  composers,  while  in  1907  there  was  held  in  the 
French  metropolis  a  veritable  festival  of  Russian 
music,  chiefly  operatic.  Festivals  of  concert  music  have 
also  been  held  in  Belgium — in  1885  at  Antwerp,  under 


2  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

the  direction  of  Borodin,  at  Liege  under  the  presidency 
of  Cm,  and  at  Brussels  in  1890  with  Rimsky-Korsakoff 
as  conductor. 

In  Great  Britain,  however,  interest  in  Russian  music 
IS  the  result  rather  of  sporadic  efforts.  Sir  Henry  J. 
Wood  has  succeeded  in  familiarising  the  works  of 
Tchaikovsky  and  has  given  isolated  performances  of 
many  works  by  other  Russian  composers,  and  in  1909 
Mr.  Kussevitsky,  the  celebrated  contra-bassist,  gave  a 
series  of  concerts  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  forward 
some  worthy  compositions  by  his  compatriots,  but  there 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  organised  attempt 
to  bring  the  intelligence  of  the  existence  of  the  school 
as  a  whole  withm  the  public  ken.  The  visits  of  the 
Russian  ballet,  which  seem  likely  to  become  annual, 
have  not  affected  to  any  large  extent  the  interest  m 
Russian  music,  because  to  the  general  public  the  liter- 
ary interest  of  these  ballets  has  been  predominant  at 
the  expense  of  the  music.  Quite  recently  in  a  news- 
paper notice  of  a  ballet,  the  music  to  which  was  ori- 
ginally conceived  and  is  habitually  presented  in  sym- 
phonic form,  by  which  indeed  the  ballet  itself  is  in- 
spired, the  composer's  contribution  was  dismissed  as  a 
mere  appendage  of  the  drama  in  spite  of  its  being  one 
of  the  chief  works  of  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of 
Russian  composers.  Other  proofs  that  the  few  seeds 
sown  in  England  have  fallen  upon  more  or  less  barren 
ground  are  not  wanting.  In  191 3  the  Philharmonic 
Society  has  allowed  the  performance  of  a  symphony 
originally  brought  forward  by  Mr.  Kussevitsky  in  1909 
to  be  announced  as  the  first  performance  m  England, 
and  during  its  rehearsal  I  was  questioned  by  a  pro- 
minent professional  musician  as  to  the  nationality  of 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

its  composer,  who  is  quite  tiie  most  remarkable  and 
certamly  the  most  notorious  product  of  the  Russr-m 
school. 

Because  the  contemporary  Russian  composer  is  by 
way  of  usurping  the  established  prerogative  of  the 
French  musician,  that  of  seeking  a  new  harmonic  basis, 
and  because  the  names  of  Scriabin  and  Stravinsky  are 
associated  chiefly  with  attempts  to  break  down  all  the 
formalistic  barriers,  there  is  a  danger  that  the  music 
of  the  founders  of  the  Russian  school  will  come  to  be 
regarded  as  old-fashioned  and  will  be  relegated  to  the 
category  of  the  archival  before  the  intelligence  as  to 
the  actual  initiation  of  that  school  and  of  its  influence 
has  been  chronicled  in  such  shape  as  will  allow  of 
ready  access  to  the  general  musical  public. 

By  means  of  the  following  chapters  it  is  hoped  at 
least  to  minimise  such  a  danger.* 


Since  this  introduction  was  written  a  season  of  Russian 
opera  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre  has  been  the  means  of  arousing  a 
lively  interest  in  Russian  music  and  has  brought  forth  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  fragmentary  information. 


PART    I. 

THE    PRE-NATIONALISTS. 

I. 

IT  has  often  been  ponitcd  out  that  the  hteratiTre  and 
the  music  of  Russia  have  a  common  origin,  that  of 
popular  inspiration.  Russian  literature  has  derived 
much  from  the  inexhaustible  fund  of  legends  which 
form  the  folk-lore  of  that  vast  empire,  and  its  music 
has  been  inspired  by  a  wealth  of  popular  songs.  There 
are  several  collections  of  folk-songs,  the  most  cele- 
brated being  that  of  Pratsch  who  assembled  no  less 
than  one  hundred  and  forty-nme,  from  which  two 
volumes  Beethoven  culled  the  Russian  themes  em- 
ployed in  his  "  Razumovsky  "  quartets.  A  circumstance 
also  common  to  both  arts  has  been  a  movement  during 
the  later  history  of  each  to  free  them  from  the  in- 
fluences of  the  west  and  to  endow  them  with  a  truly 
national  character  and  complexion.  At  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century  the  prevailing  interest  in  music 
as  well  as  in  literature  was  chiefly  confined  to  foreign 
importations.  During  its  flrst  half  the  poet  Tredia- 
kovsky  (1703-69)  occupied  himself  in  the  task  of  forg- 
ing a  literary  language  for  Russia.  Prior  to  this,  the 
official  language  of  the  empire,  owing  to  the  influx  of 


CATHERINE   THE   GREAT   AS    MUSICAL   PATRON.  5 

foreigners  during  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great,  was 
pervaded  by  Dutch,  French  and  German  words. 
Trediakovsky  was  succeeded  in  this  undertaking  by 
Michiel  Lomonossov  (171 1-65)  who  is  credited  wuh 
the  achievement  of  having  constructed  and  tuned  an 
instrument  which  was  ultimately  to  serve  as  a  fit 
medium  of  expression  for  the  poetic  genius  of  Push- 
kin, the  great  national  singer.  The  musical  art  in 
Russia  was  destined  to  be  the  subject  of  a  similar  pro- 
cess of  emancipation.  It  was  not  until  after  the  death 
of  the  Empress  Anne  (1730-40)  who  had  engaged,  in 
1735,  an  Italian  opera  company  under  the  direction  of 
Francesco  A.raya,  at  that  time  famous  as  a  composer, 
that  efforts  in  a  nationalistic  direction  were  made,  first 
by  the  Empress  Elizabeth  .(i  741 -60  who  formed  a  c:m- 
pany  of  Russian  native  singers,  and  subsequently  by 
Catherine  the  Great  (1761-96),  who  carried  on  this  work 
and  caused  representations  to  be  given  of  many 
operas  by  Russian  composers.  This  must  not,  how- 
ever, be  invested  with  too  great  a  significance,  seeing 
that  although  these  operas  were  by  native  composers 
and  were  sung  in  the  vernacular,  the  flavour  of  the 
music  was  still  thoroughly  Italian.  The  composers 
here  referred  to  are  \^olkoff,  whose  opera,  "  Taniousha," 
IS  credited  with  being  the  earliest  musical  work  having 
in  any  sense  a  Russian  character ;  Fomin,  for  one  of 
whose  works,  "  Matinsky,"  Catherine  herself  supplied 
the  libretto ;  Titoff,  whose  endeavours  were  also  in  part 
nationalistic,  and  Cavos,  who,  though  Venetian  by 
birth,  lived  for  forty-five  years  in  Russia  and  assim- 
ilated m  a  consider  ible  degree  the  tincture  cf  the  Slav 
temperament. 

But  there  was  a  certain  activity,  in  another  musical 


6  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

Sphere,  which  was  destined  to  have  a  great  influence 
upon  the  future.  The  choif  of  the  Imperial  Chapel, 
which  had  been  suppressed  after  the  death  of  Peter 
the  Great,  was  revived  during  the  reign  of  Anne.  The 
first  musician  to  produce  great  results  from  this  choir 
was  Maxim  Soznovich  Berezovsky  (1745-77).  who  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  fathers  of  the  art  of  religious 
music  in  Russia.  The  beauty  of  his  voice  and  his  ap- 
titude for  composition  when  a  boy  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  Catherine,  who  sent  him  to  Bologna  where  he 
studied  for  several  years  under  the  guidance  of  the 
then  celebrated  Padre  Martini.  Returning  to  his 
native  country  he  applied  himself  to  the  composition 
of  devotional  works  and  did  his  utmost  to  initiate 
some  necessary  reforms  in  the  Greco-Russian  church 
service.  His  early  death  is  attributed  to  the  chagrin 
consequent  on  the  failure  of  these  endeavours.  That 
the  failure  was  not  total  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
he  is  to-day  considered  one  of  the  most  gifted  com- 
posers known  to  the  history  of  Russian  sacred  music. 

Dmitri  Stepancvich  Bortniansky  (1751-1825),  who 
was  destined  to  succeed  and  somewhat  to  outshine  him, 
was  ten  years  his  junior.  He,  also,  owed  the  atten- 
tion of  his  royal  mistress  to  the  quality  of  his  soprano 
voice,  and  he  was  hardly  seven  years  of  age  when,  by 
favour  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth,  he  was  placed  under 
Galuppi,  at  that  time  master  of  the  imperial  music 
at  St.  Petersburg.  At  the  departure  of  Galuppi  from 
Russia  in  1768,  Catherine,  who  was  unwilling  that 
the  boy's  talent  should  fall  short  of  fruition,  sent  him 
after  his  master  to  Venice,  whence,  at  Galuppi's  sug- 
gestion, he  subsequently  proceeded  to  Bologna.  Dur- 
ing a  long  stay  in  Italy  he  composed  a  large  number 


BORTNIANSKY.  J 

of  works  in  the  Italian  style,  both  sacred  and  secu- 
lar. On  his  return,  however,  to  St.  Petersburg  in  1779, 
when  he  was  immediately  appointed  principal  of  the 
Imperial  Chapel,  he  took  up  the  cause  of  the  national 
in  his  art.  Cognisant  that  the  section  of  Little  Russia, 
known  as  the  Ukraine,  was  by  virtue  of  the  clemency 
of  its  climate  a  prolific  source  of  good  voices,  he  went 
to  that  district  for  all  his  choristers,  and  by  dint  of 
careful  and  enthusiastic  training  he  assembled  a  choir 
of  such  vocal  excellence  that  its  traditions  and  its 
ideals  have  been  carried  on  to  the  present  time,  the 
Imperial  Choir  now  being  an  object  of  admiration  to 
all  foreign  musiciars  privileged  to  hear  it.  Instru- 
mental music  is  not  permitted  in  the  Greek  Church,  and 
it  is  to  the  circumstances  of  being  obliged  to  sing 
unaccompanied  by  an  instrument  that  the  Russian 
choir  singer  owes  his  facility  m  maintaining  pitch. 
During  the  ensuing  period  there  were  several  more  or 
less  tentative  efforts  toward  the  establishment  of  a 
national  movement  for  which,  however,  the  time  was 
hardly  ripe.  It  was  during  this,  the  golden  period  of 
Russian  literature,  in  the  reign  of  Nicholas  I,  that 
Alexis  Nicholaevich  Vcrstovsky  (1799- 1862)  composed 
and  produced  an  opera  which  attained  considerable 
popularity  :  "  The  Tomb  of  Askold."  He  wrote  m  all 
six  operas,  but  the  one  mentioned  eclipsed  all  the 
others  in  popular  favour,  so  much  so  as  to  receive,  in 
the  first  twenty-five  years  of  its  existence,  six  hundred 
performances  in  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  alone. 
Alexander  Nicholaevich  Alabieff,  who  appeared  a  little 
later  (1802-52)  is  better  known  by  his  songs  than  by 
his  one  operatic  venture,  especially  by  "  The  Nightin- 
gale," which  used  often  to  figure  in  the  "lesson  scene" 


8  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

in  the  "  Barber  of  Seville."  The  success  of  Verstovsky 
was  due  rather  to  the  abundance  of  pleasing  melody 
which  graced  his  operas  than  to  any  special  talent 
either  for  dramatic  effect  or  ingenuity  of  instru- 
mentation. 

It  was  not  until  the  advent  of  Glinka's  "  A  Life  for 
the  Czar"  in  ICS36  that  the  Russian  school  can  really 
be  said  to  have  been  inaugurated. 


II. 

GLINKA. 
"A   LIFE   FOR   THE    CZAR." 

MICHAEL  IVANOVICH  GLINKA  (1804-57),  was 
born  on  May  20  (June  2*)  at  the  village  of 
Novospasskoi,  in  the  government  of  Smolensk,  on  the 
estate  belonging  to  his  father,  a  retired  army  officer. 
He  showed  signs  at  an  early  age  of  the  possession 
of  an  extremely  nervous  disposition  and  a  lively 
aptitude  for  music.  His  father  was  well-disposed 
toward  the  art  and  did  nothing  to  stifle  his  son's  affec- 
tion for  it ;  his  grandmother,  who  was  responsible  for 
his  early  upbringing,  being  an  invalid  herself,  fell 
naturally  into  the  error  of  molly-coddling  the  boy, 
with  the  result  that  he  never  succeeded  in  throwing 
off  an  inherent  hypochondriacal  tendency.  His  father 
was  not  particularly  well  off,  but  his  mother's  brother 
was  blessed  with  sufficient  substance  to  be  able  to 
afford   the    upkeep    of    a    private    band.     When    the 


*  The  Russians  have  not  yet  accepted  the  change  in  the 
calendar  made  hy  Pope  Gregory  XIII  in  the  3^ear  1582.  The 
alteration  was  adopted  by  England  in  1751. 

9 


10  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Glinkas  entertained,  this  band  was  lent  to  them  by 
him,  and  it  was  to  this  early  association  with  music  of 
the  best  class  that  young  Michael  owed  the  develop- 
ment of  his  taste.  Of  the  music  of  the  people  he  heard 
plenty,  and  his  timely  assimilation  of  the  folk-song 
style  is  to  be  held  as  the  chief  cause  of  the  ger- 
mination of  his  adult  passion  for  the  national  ideal. 
The  case  of  the  Russian  school  which  was  to  come  is 
analogous  with  that  of  Glinka.  Prior  to  its  inception 
the  music  of  the  populace  may  be  said  to  have  been 
confined  to  that  of  folk-song,  of  which  the  Russian 
empire  boasts  such  a  wealth.  The  domain  of  Russian 
popular  song  is  extraordinarily  vast,  and  voices  senti- 
ments relating  both  to  an  enormous  territorial  tract  and 
a  remarkable  diversity  of  idea.  There  are  songs  of 
mythical  gods,  of  fabulous  mortals,  ancestral  epics, 
songs,  heroic  and  tender,  and  rhapsodies  upon  the  sub- 
jects (and  regarding  the  objects)  of  love  and  hate. 
The  Russian  empire  stretching  from  the  Baltic  coast  to 
Persia,  from  the  boundaries  of  Turkey  to  the  Arctic 
circle,  comprises  in  its  people  an  immense  variety  of 
race,  and  as  may  be  imagined,  the  climatic  differences 
are  no  inconsiderable  factor  in  the  varied  character  of 
these  songs.  The  songs  of  the  north  are  as  different 
from  those  of  the  southern  peoples  as  are  the  folk 
themselves.  As  is  natural,  the  art  of  song  flourishes 
to  the  greater  extent  in  the  southern  portion  of  the 
empire,  and  it  has  been  said  of  the  Slavs,  whenever 
at  work  and  whenever  resting,  they  sing  of  the  road, 
of  the  river,  of  the  prairie,  of  the  forest,  of  the  corn, 
of  the  open  air,  of  the  fireside,  both  in  single  voices 
and  in  concert,  as  occasion  serves.  Just  as  we  are  told, 
by   himself,   of   Glinka's   determination  to   make   this 


GLINKA   AND    FOLK-SONG.  II 

treasury  of  national  song  the  fount  of  national  music, 
so  the  Russian  school,  who  were  his  direct  descendants, 
were  imbued  with  this  same  idea  of  deriving  as  much 
thematic  substance  as  possible  from  the  same  origin, 
and  thus  preserving  the  national  character  in  their 
music.  Melchior  de  Vogue,  whose  essays  on  "  The 
Russian  Novel"  were  published  during  the  year  1883, 
said  therein  that  when  Russia  should  beget  some  seri- 
ous musicians  these  songs  should  provide  an  unlimited 
source  of  inspiration.  The  tardiness  of  this  pronounce- 
ment goes  to  emphasise  what  has  often  been  remarked 
and  what  was  the  subject  of  frequent  complaint  by 
Tchaikovsky  :  that  very  little  was  known  in  Russia  of 
the  Russian  school  at  a  moment  when  it  was,  in  reality, 
in  full  strength. 

Glmka  took  his  earliest  piano  lessons  from  his 
governess  under  the  paternal  roof.  In  18 17  he  went  to 
a  boarding-school  in  St.  Petersburg,  where  he  remained 
until  1822,  and  where  he  received  further  piano  tuition 
from  John  Field  himself.  He  also  studied  the  violin 
with  Boehm,*  who  is  said  to  have  found  him  an  un- 
promising pupil.  In  1822  he  made  his  first  essay  in 
composition,  one  of  his  five  valses  for  piano  and  a  set 
of  variations,  of  which  he  wrote  in  all  eight.  He  seems 
to  have  spent  these  years  in  profitable  fashion,  for 
during  this  period  he  exercised  a  natural  faculty  for 
acquiring  foreign  languages,  which  is  a  Slav  character- 
istic, and  mastered  Latin,  French,  German,  English  and 
Persian.  He  also  paid  a  particular  attention  to  the 
subjects  of  geography  and  zoology.     A  fact  that  may 


*  Not  to  be   confounded   with  the  teacher  of   Joachim  who 
lived  in  Vienna. 


12  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

account  for  some  weaknesses  in  his  music  is  that  despite 
the  seriousness  of  his  attitude  towards  the  art  he  did 
not  undergo  a  regular  theoretical  course  until  some 
years  after  this. 

His  health  was  never  of  the  best,  and  in  1823  he  had 
a  nervous  breakdown  which  necessitated  a  change  of 
scene,  and  he  made  a  tour  of  the  Caucasus,  taking  the 
cure  which  the  waters  of  that  country  are  supposed  to 
offer.  On  his  return  home  he  prosecuted  his  musical 
studies  with  an  ardour  the  renewal  of  which  he  traced 
to  the  effect  of  the  sulphur  in  these  waters.  He  recounts 
in  his  memoirs  how  he  took  his  uncle's  orchestra  in 
hand  and  rehearsed  each  section  with  the  dual  purpose 
of  rendering  justice  to  the  work  in  hand  and  of  fami- 
liarising himself  with  the  masterpieces  with  which  he 
came  thus  to  make  acquaintance.  In  this  way  he  was 
able  to  study  in  detail  some  symphonies  and  overtures 
of  Haydn,  Mozart,  Beethoven,  Cherubini  and  Mehul 
In  1824  his  studies  were  somewhat  intermittent,  as  he 
had  not  at  that  time  considered  music  as  a  life  career. 
He  secured  a  position  in  a  government  department,  and 
took  up  residence  m  St.  Petersburg.  But  the  fact  of 
having  less  opportunity  for  study  did  not  cause  any 
diminution  of  his  passion  for  the  musical  art,  and  in 
1828  he  decided  to  avail  himself  of  the  offer  cf  an 
allowance  from  his  family  to  devote  himself  entirely  to 
music.  During  his  employment  by  the  State,  in  spite 
of  a  natural  timidness,  he  threw  himself  amongst  th'^ 
world,  choosing  the  most  cultured  acquaintances,  and 
mixed  with  a  variety  of  young  men  who  were  congenial 
to  him  on  account  of  their  artistic  proclivities.  Among 
these  were  Prince  Galitzin,  whose  son  became  such  an 
untiring  propagandist  of  the  cause  of  Russian  music, 


YOUTHFUL   PLEASURES.  1 3 

and  Count  Wielhorski,  who  was  also  nnbued  with  the 
desire  to  advance  its  prospects,  which  project  he  car- 
ried out  in  practical  fashion  by  giving  some  notable 
concerts.  Another  member  of  the  circle  was  Tolstoy, 
the  critic*  One  and  all  were  determined  to  take  every 
opportunity  of  propitiating  the  muses  m  one  form  or 
another,  and  they  pursued  this  ideal  with  an  enthu- 
siasm bordering  on  frenzy.  From  Glinka's  memoirs 
we  learn  some  details  as  to  these  miniature  festivals, 
or  perhaps  one  should  say,  orgies  of  music.  One  of 
them  took  the  form  of  a  sort  of  musical  water  carnival 
at  which  a  chorus  by  Boieldieu,  who  had  spent  eight 
years  in  Russia  as  conductor  of  the  Imperial  Opera, 
was  performed.  For  another  he  composed  the 
"Slavsia,"  w^iich  apotheosis  of  the  fatherland  was 
destined  to  become  the  most  popular  number  m  his 
"  Life  for  the  Czar."  At  a  third  he  took  the  part  of 
Donna  Anna  m  a  translated  version  of  Mozart's  "  Don 
Juan."  At  an  "evening"  given  by  the  Princess  Stro- 
ganoff,  who  lived  m  the  district  of  Novgorod,  ever  a 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  St.  Petersburg,  he  played 
Figaro   m   "The   Barber." 

As  time  went  on  Glmka  perceived  that  this  round 
of  pleasures,  of  an  artistic  nature  though  they  were, 
did  very  little  towards  effecting  a  practical  musical 
advancement,  and  at  the  same  time  he  found  himself 
once  again  under  the  necessity  of  paying  some  regard 
to  the  claims  of  physical  well-being.  In  the  spring 
of  1830  he  accordingly  left  Russia  for  Italy,  paying 
a  short  visit  to  Germany  en  route,  m  company  with  a 


Later   one   of   the   victims   of  Moussorgsky's  satire,    "The 
Peep-show." 


14  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

famous  singer,  Ivanoff  by  name,  whose  talents  were 
fostered,  thanks  to  the  material  assistance  of  the  Czar 
Nicholas  I.*  Glinka  settled  for  a  year  m  Milan, 
where  he  studied  with  Basili,  director  of  the  Conser- 
vatoire. He  became  acquainted  with  Donizetti  and 
Bellini,  and  not  only  familiar  with,  but  considerably 
influenced  by  their  music.  He  witnessed  the  first  pub- 
lic representation  of  "  La  Scnnambula,"  and  arranged 
and  published  fantasias  upon  its  themes  as  well  as 
of  those  of  other  operas  of  the  same  stamp.  He  then 
spent  a  few  months  at  Naples,  but  it  is  evident  from 
his  autobiography  that  he  was  constantly  hearing  the 
"call"  of  Russia.  Finally  his  artistic  nature  re- 
sponded, and  it  w^as  at  this  time  that  the  idea  of 
creating  a  truly  Russian  type  of  music  really  seized 
upon  his  imagination  and  became  a  firm  intention 
which  was  not  abandoned.  He  still  felt  that  his 
theoretical  knowledge  was  insufficient,  and  on  his  way 
back  to  Russia  he  went  for  a  few  months  once  more 
to  Berlin,  where  he  placed  himself  under  the  cele- 
brated Dehn,  who,  twelve  years  later,  became  the 
teacher  of  Anton  Rubinstein.  Dehn  saw  the  folly  and 
futility  of  putting  a  man  of  twenty-nine  back  to  the 
very  first  rung,  and,  instead,  set  to  work  to  reduce  the 
chaos  of  promiscuously  acquired  knowledge  to  some 
sort  of  order,  taking  his  pupil  through  a  rapid  survey 
of  the  essentials  of  musical  theory  and  of  the  practice 
of  composition.     All  this  time  Glinka  was  haunted  by 


"  Ivanoff  became  eminent  in  Italy  and  contracted  a  firm 
friendship  with  Rossini.  He  subsequently  incurred  the  dis- 
pleasure of  his  royal  patron  by  forsaking  Russia,  to  which  he 
never  returned. 


glinka's  literary  circle.  15 

the  one  idea  of  qualifying  as  the  prophet  of  Russian 
music.  In  a  letter  to  one  of  his  St.  Petersburg  friends 
he  mentions  this  idea,  and  lays  stress  upon  the  con- 
dition that  the  opera  which  he  had  resolved  to  attempt 
must  not  only  be  Russian  by  virtue  of  its  Russian 
subject,  but  its  musical  substance.  He  insists  that  the 
work  must  be  thoroughly  national.  He  wishes  to 
figure  before  his  compatriots  as  a  true  Russian  artist, 
and  before  foreigners  as  a  poet  singing  his  country 
and  his  race,  and  not,  in  his  own  words,  as  a  jay  be- 
decked with  the  plumage  of  birds  of  another  feather. 
In  1834,  on  the  death  of  his  father,  he  returned  to 
Russia.  Domiciled  once  more  m  St.  Petersburg  with 
a  former  friend,  he  found  no  difficulty  in  gathering 
up  the  dropped  threads  of  his  artistic  acquaintance, 
and  was  soon  the  centre  of  an  intellectual  circle  which 
included  Pushkin,  Gogol  and  Joukovsky,  the  fine 
flower,  that  is  to  say,  of  contemporary  Russian  liter- 
ature, men  who  indeed  were  destined  to  bear  the  great- 
est names  in  the  literary  history  of  the  empire.  To 
these  men  the  idea  of  nationalising  the  artistic  pro- 
duct of  their  fatherland  was  entirely  congenial,  and 
Glinka  received  every  possible  encouragement. 

It  was  Joukovsky,  virtually  the  leader  of  the  circle, 
who  proposed  to  Glinka  the  subject  of  the  heroic  and 
patriotic  deed  of  Ivan  Soussamn  as  libretto  for  an 
opera.  Such  it  became,  and  thus  it  is  that  the  name 
of  Ivan  Soussamn  is  more  familiar  to  Russians  as 
the  hero  of  Glinka's  opera,  "  A  Life  for  the  Czar,"  than 
as  a  figure  in  Russian  history.  The  circumstances 
which  form  the  plot  of  the  libretto  are  taken  from  a 
page  in  the  annals  of  the  Russian  empire,  which  has 
but  recently  been  the  subject  of  commemoration  at  the 


l6  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

tercentenary  of  the  Romanoff  dynasty.  In  1613  the 
Poles  invaded  Russia,  and,  not  content  with  threaten- 
ing the  throne  of  the  newly-elected  Michael  Romanoff, 
actually  plotted  against  the  Royal  life.  Several  of 
the  Polish  chieftains,  ignorant  of  the  whereabouts  of 
the  monarch,  approached  Ivan  Soussanin,  a  peasant, 
and  without  disclosing  their  identity  and  their  plans, 
solicited  his  aid  as  guide  m  their  search  for  the 
Royal  person.  Ivan,  suspecting  treason,  elected  to  sac- 
rifice his  life  for  that  of  his  sovereign  and  country, 
and,  having  sent  his  adopted  son,  Vania,  to  warn  the 
Czar  of  the  dangers  surrounding  him,  engaged  him- 
self to  the  Poles  and  led  them  into  the  depths  of  a 
labyrinthine  forest  from  which  they  could  not  pos- 
sibly retrace  their  road.  The  Poles,  on  perceiving  the 
deception,  turned  on  Soussanin  and  speedily  put  him 
to  death. 

Glinka  was  not  slow  to  recognise  the  merits  of  this 
story.  Its  epic  character,  its  pathos  and  its  poten- 
tialities as  to  national  colour,  both  dramatic  and  musi- 
cal, all  appealed  to  him  with  immediate  force,  and 
he  set  to  work  to  put  the  idea  into  such  shape  as  would 
fit  it  for  a  theatrical  purpose.  Joukovsky  was  the 
tutor  to  the  Royal  family,  and  he  suggested 
Baron  Rosen,  the  Royal  secretary,  as  librettist.  The 
hitter  was  readily  accepted  in  this  capacity  by  Glinka, 
who  asked  nothing  better  than  to  proceed  at  once  with 
the  work  of  realising  his  life's  ambition.  Rosen,  who 
was  a  German,  does  not  seem  to  have  been  quite  so 
zealous,  and  the  fact  that  Glmka  had  frequently  to 
re-arrange  his  music  to  suit  the  words  which  should, 
properly  speaking,  have  inspired  it,  is  held  to  account 
for  certain  flaws  m  the  relation  of  the  libretto  to  the 


"A   LIFE   FOR   THE   CZAR."  1/ 

music.  Glinka's  notion,  too,  of  contrasting  Polish  and 
Russian  musical  themes  for  the  purpose  of  a  musical 
portrayal  of  the  conflicting  nationalities  did  net  occur 
to  him  until  after  the  libretto  was  begun,  and  on  this 
account,  too,  the  homogeneity  of  the  work  was  some- 
what marred. 

The  prejudicial  obstacles  with  which  the  path  of 
creative  genius  is  so  often  strewn  were  not  absent  in 
Glinka's  case,  and  for  some  time  the  management  of 
the  Imperial  Opera  refused  to  allow  the  work  to  be 
performed.  But  Glinka  was  able  to  bring  the  most 
powerful  influences  to  bear,  and  in  1836  "A  Life  for 
the  Czar "  was  given  its  flrst  public  performance  with 
magnificent  success,  and  the  genuine  Russian  operatic 
school  was  an  accomplished  fact.  The  opera  achieved 
immediate  popularity,  the  only  dissentients  being  a 
few  aristocrats  who  complained  that  the  music  was 
founded  upon  plebim  airs.*  It  is  not  difficult  to 
realise  what  must  have  been  the  effect  upon  a  public 
accustomed  to  and  sated  with  the  conventionalised  in- 
anities of  Italian  opera,  of  such  scenes  as,  for  instance, 
that  constituting  the  second  act  :  the  brilliant  spectacle 
of  the  Polish  camp  in  full  fete,  and  the  gorgeous 
climax  created  by  the  pageant  of  the  Emperor's  royal 
progress  through  his  capital.  The  interest  of  the  stage- 
play,  as  well  as  inspiring  the  composer  to  a  superb 
effort,  kindled  the  patriotic  flame  of  the  Russian 
people  to  an  extent  unprecedented  in  the  annals  of 
the  Russian  theatre. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  Glinka  had 


*  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  greatest  living  exponent 
of  the  role  of  Sonssanin  i.s  of  the  humblest  origin. 


1 8  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

been  able  cntirel)'  to  rid  himself  of  the  effect  of  his 
sojourn   m   Italy,   and   it   is   indeed   more   than   likely 
that  the  alloyage  of  an  occasional  Italian  flavour,  es- 
pecially   in    the    concerted    vocal    numbers,    with    the 
nationalistic   character   of   the  whole,   was  responsible 
for  the  immediate  success  of  the  work  with  the  people. 
There  was  nevertheless  a  certain  originality  of  writing 
which  was  the  expression  of  Glinka's  own  musical  in- 
dividuality, and  which  voiced  its  needs.     It  would  be 
difficult  to  trace  the  use  of  bars  of  five  and  seven  beats 
to   any   outside   or   previous   influence,    and    it   should 
be   noted   that   this  rhythmic    freedom   was,   for   some 
little  time   at   all   events,   confined  as   a   characteristic 
to   the    Russian   school.     Cesar    Cui,    who    has  contri- 
buted so  much  to  the  literature  of  the  subject,  points 
out  a  weakness  in  "  A  Life  for  the  Czar "  which  can 
easily  be  understood.     He  calls  attention  to  the  com- 
parative awkwardness  with  which  the  Polish  music  is 
fitted  into  the  whole,  and  further,  that  it  is  all  of  a 
conventional   and   superficial   pattern.     It   consists,   he 
says,  of   polonaises   and  mazurkas,  and   protests   that 
Polish   nationality   is   expressible   in  other   terms   and 
by  other  means  than  that  of  a  succession  of  songs  in 
these  rhythms.     He  rounds  off  his  criticism,  however, 
by  allowing  that  the  fusion  of  inspiration  and  creative 
power  evinced  in  the  composition  of  "  A  Life  for  the 
Czar"  was  of  an  order  which  justifies  the  placing  of 
Glmka    amongst    the    greatest    composers.     Whatever 
criticism  may  have  been  levelled  at  certain  imperfec- 
tions in   Glinka's   masterpiece,  it   is   abundantly   clear 
that  it  enjoyed  an  extraordinary  popularity.     In  De- 
cember,   1879,   it  reached   its   fi-ve  hundredth   perform- 
ance, and  m  November,   1886,  a  special  representation 


POSTERITY  S    VERDICT.  1 9 

was  given,  not  only  at  St.  Petersburg,  but  in  every 
Russian  town  boasting  a  theatre,  in  celebration  of  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  its  first  production.  At  Mos- 
cow it  was  actually  given  at  two  theatres  simultane- 
ously. The  occasion  was  invested  with  national  im- 
portance. A  history  of  the  opera  was  published  which 
contained  a  picture  of  a  statue  of  Glinka  which  had 
been  erected  at  Smolensk,  near  the  composer's  birth- 
place some  years  previously.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
popular  acclamation  of  this  symbol  of  the  birth  of 
the  Russian  school  was  equalled  by  the  intensity  of 
feeling  which  prevailed  at  its  commemoration — a  re- 
markable testimony  to  the  artistic  judgment  as  wtII  as 
to  the  fidelity  of  the  Russian  people. 


III. 

'  RUSSLAN   AND   LUDMILLA." 

ONE  of  the  fruits  of  the  success  sustained  by  the 
production  of  *' A  Life  for  the  Czar"  was  the 
appointment  of  Glinka  as  director  of  the  Imperial 
Chapel  Choir,  and  m  that  capacity  he  paid  visits 
to  Little  Russia  and  to  Finland  in  search  of  new 
voices.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  from  Little 
Russia  that  were  recruited  the  singers  who  originally 
assisted  in  establishing  the  fame  of  this  choral  body. 
It  was  whilst  on  these  journeys  that  Glinka  collected 
some  musical  material  for  his  second  opera,  "  Russian 
and  Ludmilla."  This  work  was  based  upon  one  of 
the  e:irliest  poems  of  the  famous  poet,  Pushkin,  of 
which  the  subject  was  a  fairy  tale.  Glinka  applied 
to  Pushkin  himself  for  a  dramatised  version,  but 
hardly  had  the  poet  accepted  the  invitation,  when  he 
was  killed  in  a  duel  arising  out  of  the  supposititious 
infidelity  of  his  wife.  Not  until  shortly  before  breath- 
ing his  last,  was  Pushkin  assured  of  her  innocence. 
Glinka,  who  had  been  married  since  1835,  himself 
suffered  at  this  time  from  domestic  misunderstanding 

20 


THE   LIBRETTO   OF    "  RUSSLAN."  21 

which  culminated  m  separation,  and  this  circumstance, 
together  with  that  of  his  having  employed  no  less  than 
five  librettists  as  substitutes  fcr  the  single  hand  of 
Pushkin,  is  held  to  have  been  contributory  to  a  certain 
weakness  m  the  "book"  of  "Russian."  Its  combined 
authorship  is  in  a  sense  comparable  with  the  battalion 
of  names  so  often  to  be  found  on  the  title  page  of 
English  musical  comedies,  and  the  literary  content 
of  the  opera  suffers  naturally  enough  from  a  certain 
disunity  and  from  a  lack  of  dramatic  cohesion.  Musi- 
cally, the  homogeneity  of  "Russian"  is  interfered  with 
by  a  sort  of  prophetic  "  Russification "  which  was 
nevertheless  the  means  of  giving  full  scope  to  the  ec- 
lecticism of  its  composer.  Thus  while  some  of  his 
score  is  couched  in  true  Russian  vein,  it  contains  sec- 
tions on  the  one  hand  of  a  semi-Oriental  and  on  the 
ether  of  a  Tartar  character.  Further,  as  the  outcome 
of  his  visit  to  Finland,  he  was  able  to  give  to  the  music 
of  Finn,  the  wizard,  the  particular  territorial  flavour 
demanded  by  the  circumstance  that  the  magician  of 
Russian  legends  is  invariably  of  Finnish  origin.  Alto- 
gether the  musical  characterisation,  the  music  itself 
and  the  orchestration  are  of  a  very  much  riper  quality 
than  that  of  "A  Life  fcr  the  Czar,"  and,  in  uniting 
the  best  features  of  the  Italian,  French  and  German 
schools  with  his  own  individual  genius,  Glmka  suc- 
ceeded in  creating  a  work  of  a  high  order — one  which 
embraced  some  epoch-making  innovations. 

The  plot  of  "  Russian  and  Ludmilla,"  consisting  as 
it  does  of  a  gallimaufrv  of  characters  and  incidents, 
is  not  easily  reducible  to  coherency.  The  first  act 
opens  with  an  entertainment  held  by  Svietosar,  Grand 
Duke  of  Kieff,  in  honour  of  the  suitors  of  his  daughter 


22  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

Ludmilla  :  Russian,  valiant  knight,  Ratmir,  Oriental 
dreamer  and  poet,  and  Farlaf,  coward  and  braggart. 
Russian  enjoys  the  preference.  During  a  chorus  in 
propitiation  of  Lei,  god  of  matrimony,  the  festivities 
are  interrupted  by  a  thunderclap  and  a  sudden  dark- 
ness, and  when  light  returns  it  is  seen  that  Ludmilla 
has  been  carried  off.  Svietosar,  her  father,  premises 
her  hand  to  the  rescuer.  The  second  act  takes  us  to 
the  cave  of  Finn,  the  wizard,  to  whom  Russian  has 
repaired  for  advice.  Russian,  hearing  that  Ludmilla's 
abduction  is  the  work  of  Tcherncmor,  the  dwarf,  and 
having  been  warned  against  the  machinations  of 
Nama,  a  wicked  fairy,  goes  on  his  search.  The  scene  is 
changed  and  discovers  Farlaf  in  consultation  with 
Na'ina,  who  persuades  him  to  neglect  Ludmilla  until 
she  has  been  found  by  Russian,  and  then  to  carry  her 
off  afresh.  After  a  further  change  of  scene,  Russian 
IS  seen  on  an  old  and  mist-enveloped  battle-field  where 
he  finds  a  lance  and  a  shield.  The  mist  clears  and 
reveals  a  gigantic  head  which,  m  order  to  harass 
Russian,  creates,  by  means  of  its  brobdingnagian 
breathing-apparatus,  a  storm ;  the  knight  overcomes  the 
head  with  a  stroke  of  his  lance  and  finds  beneath  it 
the  magic  sword  destined  to  secure  for  him  a  victory 
over  Tchernomor.  The  head  explains  that  its  inglori- 
ous isolation  is  due  to  the  treachery  of  the  dwarf,  who 
IS  its  brother,  and  explains  the  use  of  the  avenging 
sword. 

The  third  act  passes  in  the  enchanted  pilace  of 
Xaina  and  introduces  Gonslava,  who  loves  Ratmir. 
The  latter  appears,  but  is  enchanted  by  some  comely 
maidens  who  belong  to  Xaina's  court,  and  turns  a  deaf 


THE    PLOT    OF    "  RUSSLAN."  23 

ear  to  Gorislava's  entreaties.  But  for  the  timely  in- 
terference of  Finn,  Russian,  who  also  comes  on  the 
scene,  would  himself  succumb  to  the  influence  of  the 
sirens. 

The  fourth  act  is  placed  in  the  dwelling  of  the 
villainous  Tchernomcr.  Ludmilla  is  here  found  in- 
consolable m  face  of  all  distraction  proffered  her. 
Fatigue  finally  brings  slesp.  She  is  awakened  by 
Tchernomcr,  who  enters,  followed  by  his  suite  and  his 
slaves.  He  seats  himself  at  Fudmilla's  side  and  gives 
the  signal  for  a  divertisement.  This  is  interrupted  by 
the  arrival  of  Russian,  and  Tchernomor,  who,  as  a 
hasty  precaution,  plunges  Ludmilla  into  a  deep  trance, 
advances  to  meet  the  knight  in  combat.  Russian  is 
the  victor,  but  is  unable  to  awaken  Ludmilla.  On  the 
advice  of  Gorislava  and  Ratmir,  who  come  to  his  aid, 
he  carries  off  the  sleeping  Ludmilla  m  the  direction 
of  Kieff. 

In  the  fifth  act,  whilst  Ratmir  is  taking  his  night 
watch  over  the  party  of  travellers,  the  benevolent  Finn 
appears  and  gives  him  a  magic  ring  with  which  to 
break  Tcherncmor's  spell.  The  scene  changes  back  to 
the  palace  of  Sviccosar,  and  the  deferred  abduction 
by  Farlaf  takes  place.  Fie  m  turn  is  baffled  by  Lud- 
milla's  trance,  and  flies  m  terror  before  Russian,  who, 
magic  ring  in  hand,  restores  Ludmilla  to  conscious- 
ness and  himself  to  happiness. 

"Russian  and  Ludmilla"  was  produced  m  1842. 
With  the  public  the  work  proved,  in  comparison  with 
the  earlier  triumph  of  "  A  Life  for  the  Czar,"  a  dismal 
failure.  By  some  this  has  been  attributed  to  the  new- 
,ness  and  strangeness  of  the  musical  ideas  it  contained; 


24  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

but  M.  Pcugin  probably  hits  the  nail  on  the  head 
when,  quoting  from  a  St.  Petersburg  contemporary 
newspaper,  he  reminds  us  that  at  the  last  moment  the 
pari:  of  Ratmir  had  to  be  relegated  to  an  obscure  con- 
tralto, who,  curiously  enough,  was  a  namesake  of  Mme. 
Petrova,  a  favourite  operatic  singer  originally  chosen 
for  this  role.  There  must  nevertheless  have  been  a 
considerable  curiosity  on  the  part  of  the  public,  for 
"Russian  and  Ludmilla"  ran  for  thirty-two  perform- 
ances before  it  was  taken  off.  It  was  given  some 
twenty  times  in  the  two  following  seasons  and  did 
not  disappear  from  the  repertory  until  St.  Petersburg 
was  deprived  of  Russian  opera,  which  migrated  to 
IVIoscow,  owing  to  the  engagement  of  Rubmi  and  a 
troup  of  Italians,  in  1844.*  Later  on,  after  the  death 
of  Glinka,  the  work  was  destined  to  come  into  its  own. 
It  was  revived  at  St.  Peter_burg,  after  a  lapse  of  fifteen 
years,  in  1859,  and  when  again  mounted  in  1864  it 
remained  in  the  bill  of  the  Maryinsky  Theatre,  and 
was  subsequently  honoured  in  similar  fashion  to  "A 
Life  for  the  Czar"  in  1892  with  a  jubilee  celebration, 
which  took  place  at  its  two  hundred  and  eighty-fifth 
performance. 

Glinka  considered  his  second  opera  as  considerably 
superior,  in  point  of  artistic  maturity,  to  his  first,  and 
its  failure  to  achieve  a  unanimous  success  bitterly  dis- 
appointed him.  The  consequent  depression  of  spirits 
proved  once  more  a  menace  to  his  health,  and  he  had 


"■  Rubini  had  visited  the  capital  in  the  previous  year,  and 
besides  .succeeding  in  making  a  profit  of  fifty-four  thousand 
francs,  received  at  the  hands  of  Nicholas  I  the  appointment  of 
director  of  singing  in  Rus.sia  and  the  rank  of  colonel. 


GLINKA   AND   BERLIOZ.  25 

again  to  leave  his  native  country  m  search  of  a  com- 
plete change  of  scene.  He  went  first  to  Pans,  in  1845. 
He  had  already  been  made  aware  of  the  sentiments  of 
esteem  which  had  been  fully  expressed  by  contem- 
porary composers,  such  as  Meyerbeer,  Liszt  and  Ber- 
lioz, and,  once  in  Paris,  he  lost  no  time  m  presenting 
himself  to  the  latter,  who  was  at  the  time  occupied  m 
directing  a  series  of  orchestral  and  choral  concerts. 
Berlioz,  like  Glinka,  was  nettled  by  the  neglect  of  his 
native  public,  and  the  fellow-feeling  on  the  French- 
man's part  kindled  an  affection  for  Glinka,  which  was 
given  expression  in  a  most  eulogistic  essay  in  the  Paris 
"Journal  des  Debats,"  of  which  he  was  then  the  musi- 
cal correspondent.  In  return,  Glinka  took  steps  to 
secure  for  Berlioz's  music  a  better  appreciation  in 
Russia,  and  these  efforts  came  to  fruition  on  Berlioz's 
appearance  in  St.  Petersburg  a  twelve-month  later. 
Glmka  was  deeply  impressed  by  Berlioz's  orchestral 
innovations.  He  determined  to  make  further  essays 
himself  in  symphonic  form,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
effect  a  compromise  in  the  matter  of  harmonic  com- 
plexion, so  that  while  satisfying  his  own  artistic  needs, 
his  music  would  not  be  of  a  nature  likely  to  prevent  it 
from  securing  popular  appreciation — a  very  worthy 
resolve. 

Prior  to  leaving  Russia  he  had  completed  the  inci- 
dental music  to  a  tragedy  called  "Prince  Kolmsky," 
the  work  of  Kukolnik,  a  friend  of  the  composer,  who 
is  described  by  a  somewhat  austere  Russian  literary 
historian  as  a  poor  playwright  and  a  worse  novelist. 
This  music  is  generally  believed  to  contain  the  best 
work  of  Glinka,  and  it  won  the  very  high  esteem  of 
Tchaikovsky,  in  spite  of  his  regard  of  his  compatriot 


20  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

more  as  a  gentleman  than  an  artist.*  But  it  was  not 
until  Glinka  left  France,  for  Spain,  that  he  found 
material  in  the  moulding  of  which  he  could  execute 
the  resolve  prompted  by  his  experience  of  French  musi- 
cianship, and  he  had  left  Spam  for  Russia  ere  he  sec 
to  work  upon  this  task. 

He  arrived  in  Spam  in  May,  1845,  spent  the  summer 
at  Valladolid  and  the  winter  at  Madrid.  He  seems 
to  have  been  much  impressed  by  the  excellence  of  the 
climate,  which  suited  him  particularly  well,  as  did  also 
the  life  he  led,  free  as  it  was  from  every  care.  He 
was  able  materially  to  enrich  his  store  of  subject  mat- 
ter for  those  future  compositions  in  which  are  to  be 
found  variations  upon  Spanish  songs  and  dance 
themes.  In  his  diary  he  notes  that  the  Spaniards,  like 
the  Russians,  are  under  the  spell  of  Italian  music  and 
regrets  that  the  use  of  the  Spanish  national  idiom  in 
art-music  is,  for  that  reason,  far  from  frequent.  There 
IS  little  doubt  that  Glinka  found  that  he  possessed  a 
natural  sympathy  with  this  Spanish  popular  music. 
He  makes  no  attempt  to  account  for  it,  but  this  has 
been  done  for  him,  and  very  plausibly,  by  Mr.  M.-D. 
Calvocoressi,  who,  in  an  exhaustive  monograph,  points 


*  Tchaikovsky  somewhat  commits  himself  by  quoting  a  cer- 
tain passage  occurring  in  GUnka's  "Memoirs"  Avhich  he  did 
not  consider  to  be  quite  "  parliamentary  "  when  writing  to  his 
patroness,  Nadejda  von  Meek,  and  while  confessing  himself 
astonished  that  a  person  of  such  coarseness  should  be  capable 
of  the  refinement  observable  in  the  "  Slavsia  "  (the  patriotic 
chorus  in  "A  Life  for  the  Czar  "  which  apotheosises  Russia) 
he  seems  to  ignore  the  fact  that  the  inclusion  of  the  stigmafised 
passage  in  a  letter  to  a  lady  was  a  case  of  "  pot  calling  kettle 
black"  ! 


glinka's  travels.  27 

out  that  like  the  nuisic  of  Russia,  that  of  Spain  de- 
rives some  elements  from  the  Orient.  Mr.  Calvocoressi 
calls  attention  further  to  the  anomalous"  circumstance 
that  the  exploitation  of  Spanish  rhythms  by  modern 
native  composers  is  derivable  from  the  example  of 
the  Russian  master. 

After  two  years  in  Spain  Glmka  returned  to  Russia. 
He  spent  the  following  winter  at  his  home  and  then 
proceeded  to  Warsaw,  remaining  there  for  three  years. 
His  chief  output  during  his  stay  in  Warsaw  consisted 
of  "  Kamarmskaya,"  "Jota  Aragonesa"  and  "A  Night 
in  Madrid." 

''  Kamarinskaya "  is  an  orchestral  fantasia  founded 
on  a  nuptial  song  and  a  traditional  dance  which  he 
had  heard  m  his  native  village,  the  simultaneous  per- 
formance of  which,  be  it  noted,  foreshadowed  both 
the  manner  and  the  matter  of  his  symphonic  arrange- 
ment ;  therein,  as  will  be  remembered  by  those  who 
have  heard  the  work,  the  two  themes  are  placed  in 
juxtaposition  with  a  superb  mastery  of  means.  The 
"Jota"  and  the  "  Xight  m  Madrid"  are  given  the  gen- 
eric titles  of  Overture  and  in  these  he  employed  the 
materials  accumulated  during  the   Spanish   sojourn. 

This  period  was  brought  to  a  close  by  a  renewal  of 
the  desire  for  travel.  In  1852  he  started  in  the  direc- 
tion of  France.  He  called  once  more  at  Berlin,  where 
he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Meyerbeer,  then  went  on 
to  the  south  of  France,  not  making  any  prolonged 
stay,  and  thence  direct  to  Paris.  In  this  year  he  made 
a  beginning  upon  a  symphonic  poem  on  the  subject  of 
Gogol's  "  Tarass  Boulba,"  one  which  must  surely  have 
had  a  sufficiently  strong  appeal ;  but  it  was  not 
destined  to  be  completed,  the  reason  given  by  the  com- 


28  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

pcser  being  that  he  was  unable  to  rid  himself  of  a  ten- 
dency to  develop  his  themes  in  the  German  fashion. 

On  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  m  the  Crimea  in  1854 
he  returned  to  St.  Petersburg,  a  step,  it  is  said,  which 
was  largely  due  to  patriotic  feelings,  and  passed  a 
quiet  time  in  company  with  his  sister.  This  period 
was  destined  to  have  an  important  influence  upon  the 
subsequent  course  of  events  in  the  history  of  modern 
Russian  music,  for  amongst  the  circle  of  young  musi- 
cians m  which  Glinka  moved  at  this  time,  were  Alex- 
ander Sercff,  whose  later  critical  work  was  particularly 
helpful  in  the  development  of  the  Russian  school,  Dar- 
gomijsky,  who  became  the  successor  of  Glinka  in  the 
domain  of  Russian  national  opera,  and  Balakireff,  who, 
as  was  prophesied  by  Glmka  himself,  ultimately 
found  his  true  mission  in  bearing  the  nationalistic 
standard,  and,  it  should  be  added,  in  strengthening 
its  staff.  Whilst  m  St.  Petersburg,  Glinka  began  a 
further  attempt  at  opera,  en  a  subject  drawn  from  the 
work  of  Shakovsky,  an  eighteenth  century  poet,  but 
relinquished  the  project  on  the  birth  of  a  desire  to 
devote  himself  to  church  music.  In  order  to  study 
the  western  ecclesiastical  idiom,  he  once  more  sought 
the  guidance  of  Dehn,  and  for  that  purpose  proceeded 
in  1856  to  Berlin.  This  was  his  last  journey.  Early 
in  January,  1857,  Meyerbeer,  availing  himself  of  the 
presence  of  the  Russian  master  m  the  German  capital, 
arranged  a  special  concert  devoted  to  Glinka's  works, 
and  it  was  on  leaving  the  hall,  that  Glmka  contracted 
the  chill  which  brought  about  his  death  on  Febru- 
ary 3.  He  was  buried  in  Berlin,  but  three  months 
later  his  remains  were  conveyed  to  a  permanent  resting 


ESTIMATE   OF    GLINKA.  29 

place  in  St.  Petersburg,  where  a  monument  was  erected 
to  his  memory  in  1906. 

Glmka  possessed  the  faculties  of  original  produc- 
tion and  assimilation,  and  these,  combined,  enabled 
him  to  invest  the  folk-song  material  employed  by  him 
with  the  dignity  requisite  for  its  embodmient  in  the 
form  of  art-music.  As  has  already  been  pointed  out, 
his  success  as  a  composer  was  not  a.s  complete  as  it 
might  have  been,  had  he  conceived  from  the  outset  the 
intention  to  devote  himself  entirely  to  a  musical  career, 
and  thus  prepared  himself  by  a  thorough  grounding 
on  the  theoretical  side  of  his  art.  He  was  also  much 
hampered  by  poorness  of  health,  the  legacy  of  his  pam- 
pered childhood.  His  claim  to  immortality  must  rest 
upon  his  having  unified  the  experience  and  the  aims 
of  earlier  and  lesser  composers  in  the  accomplishment 
of  his  single  purpose,  that  of  placing  Russian  musical 
nationalism  upon  a  firm  basis. 


IV. 

DARGOMIJSKY. 

IT  will  be  remembered  that  among  the  artistic  circle 
m  which  Glinka  found  himself  during  the  last 
years  of  his  life,  spent  in  St.  Petersburg,  was  Dar- 
gomijsky,  who,  as  has  been  said,  became  his  apostolic 
successor  in  the  domain  of  Russian  national  opera. 
Certain  differences  in  the  aims  and  achievements  of 
these  two  masters  will  be  referred  to  in  due  course. 

Alexander  Serguievitch  Dargomijsky  was  born  on 
the  country  estate  of  his  parents,  situated  in  the 
government  of  Toula,  on  February  2,  181 3.  The  an- 
cestral home  was  at  Smolensk,  but  this  had  been 
vacated,  owing  to  the  Napoleonic  invasion,  a  year  prior 
to  the  birth  of  our  subject.  Like  Glinka's,  his  parents 
were  in  comfortable  circumstances.  The  child  was  ex- 
traordinarily backward,  and  did  not  begin  to  speak 
until  five  years  of  age.  When  he  was  six  he  received, 
in  St.  Petersburg,  his  first  musical  instruction,  some 
piano  lessons,  but  it  is  recorded  by  Fetis  that  the  pupil 
paid  scant  attention  to  the  actual  mechanism  of 
piano-playing,  the  lesson  hour  being  usually  spent  in 

30 


DARGOMIJSKY   AND    SCHOBERLECHNER.  3 1 

prolonged  discussions  arising  out  of  an  early  penchant 
tor  the  composition  of  sonatinas  and  little  movements 
of  different  kinds.  Two  years  later  he  began  to  learn 
the  violin,  and  soon  reached  a  proficiency  enabling  him 
to  take  part,  as  second  violin,  in  the  performance  of 
string  quartets.  From  this  time  dates  his  realisation 
of  the  higher  import  of  the  musical  art.  At  fifteen 
he  was  composing  duets  for  piano  and  violin  and  a 
few  string  quartets.  A  little  later  his  parents,  who 
were  sufficiently  enlightened  to  appreciate  the  im- 
portance of  cultivating  the  artistic  side  of  their  son's 
nature,  placed  him  with  Schoberlechner,  a  well-known 
teacher  and  composer,  whose  w^ife  had  a  highly-paid 
engagement  as  singer  at  the  Italian  Opera  in  St. 
Petersburg.  Schoberlechner  was  able  to  impart  to  the 
lad  the  rudiments  of  harmony  and  counterpoint.  The 
master  retired  with  his  wife  to  a  villa  in  Florence  in 
1 83 1,  and  this  interruption  of  the  youth's  lessens 
was  in  all  probability  the  cause  of  his  candidature 
for  a  government  appointment  which  he  received 
in  this  year.  His  official  occupation  was  not  allowed, 
however,  unduly  to  interfere  with  his  favourite  pur- 
suit. He  perfected  himself  in  piano-playing,  became 
an  exceptionally  brilliant  sight-reader,  and,  mixing 
as  he  did  in  a  musical  set,  found  himself  ery  much 
in  demand  in  society  drawing-rooms,  particularly  in 
the  capacity  of  accompanist  to  singers  of  repute. 
In  this  manner  he  became  thoroughly  conversant  with 
the  vocal  idiom,  occupying  himself  therewith  to  an 
extent  indeed  which  rendered  impossible  a  sufficient 
research  in  the  direction  of  instrumental  technique. 
It  was  now  that  he  wrote  a  quantity  of  songs, 
"romances,"    cantatas    and    part-songs,    with    acccm- 


32  A    SHORT   HISTORY    OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

paniment  for  piano  or  quartet.  At  this  time  he  was 
little  mere  than  an  accomplished  amateur,  attracted 
to  music  by  the  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  its  per- 
formance, and  had  not  yet  conceived  any  views  in 
respect  of  its  propagation  as  an  art.  The  significant 
meeting  with  Glinka,  however,  resulted,  as  may  be 
easily  imagined,  in  a  distinct  widening  of  Dar- 
gomijsky's  artistic  horizon,  and  it  was  from  Glinka 
that  he  first  derived  the  notion  of  improving  his  tech- 
nical resources  as  a  writer,  with  a  view  of  becoming 
an  operatic  composer.  To  this  end  the  State  appoint- 
ment was  relinquished,  and  he  set  himself  anew  to 
study  the  subjects  of  harmony  and  counterpoint,  for 
which  purpose  Glinka  lent  him  the  note-books  used 
by  him  in  his  studies  with  Dehn,  the  Berlin  teacher, 
and  also  to  a  careful  perusal  of  the  orchestral  scores 
of  classic  works. 

When  he  felt  that  his  resources  had  been  sufficiently 
improved,  he  began  to  look  out  for  a  suitable  subject 
for  an  opera.  His  choice  first  fell  upon  Victor  Hugo's 
"Lucrezia  Eorgia,"  but  this  does  not  seem  to  have 
pleased  him,  for  hardlv  had  he  made  a  start  upon  the 
score  than  he  relinquished  the  task  and  transferred  his 
labours  to  the  setting  of  another  work  by  the  great 
French  poet.  Hugo  had  already  drawn  from  his 
novel,  "  Notre  Dame  de  Paris,"  a  libretto  which  had 
been  employed  for  operatic  purposes  by  the  daughter 
of  Bertin,*  a  patron  of  Berlioz.  On  it  he  had  be- 
stowed the  title  of  "Esmeralda,"  the  name  of  the 
gipsy   queen  who   is  the  heroine   of   the   novel.     This 


*  Bertin    had    a    controlling   interest    in    the    '"  Journal    des 
Debats,"  of  which  Berlioz  was  musical  critic. 


t>ARGOMijSKY*S    "ESMERALDA.''  33 

version  was  performed  m  1836  at  the  Paris  Opera, 
but  in  spite  of  the  care  with  which  it  was  mounted 
and  cast,  it  was  doomed,  as  an  undeniably  poor  pro- 
duction, to  faikire.  It  was  in  the  same  year  that  Dar- 
gomijsky  resolved  to  make  use  of  this  text,  and  having 
first  written  his  music  to  the  existing  French  words, 
and  then  having  had  them  translated  into  Russian, 
he  was  able,  in  1839,  to  present  the  completed  work 
to  the  directors  of  the  Imperial  Opera.  In  matters 
such  as  this,  as  many  artists  of  genius  have  discovered 
to  their  cost,  the  official  mind  works  slowly,  and  Dar- 
gomijsky  was  destined  to  experience  the  pangs  of 
disappointment,  which  are  the  fate,  in  varying  degree, 
of  most  worthy  candidates  for  artistic  recognition. 
In  spite  of  every  attempt  to  extort  something  like  a 
decision  from  the  operatic  authorities,  who  employed 
a  variety  of  pretexts  m  attempted  justification  of  the 
delay,  it  was  not  until  eight  years  had  elapsed  that, 
m  1847,  he  learned  of  the  official  acceptance  of  his 
opera,  which  was  finally  produced  early  in  the  Decem- 
ber of  that  year. 

As  might  be  expected,  this  long  interval  was  instru- 
mental in  retarding  the  composer's  development;  he 
could  not  but  feel  that  it  would  be  unprofitable  to 
make  a  further  essay  of  the  kind  before  receiving  some 
sort  of  public  verdict  upon  the  completed  work. 

"Esmeralda"  was  produced  m  Moscow^,  and  was  pro- 
nounced a  success,  a  judgment  endorsed  four  years 
later  by  its  recognition  at  the  hands  of  the  St.  Peters- 
burg directorate.  As  evidence  of  the  popular  esteem 
it  enjoyed  at  this  time,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  ques- 
tion of  its  production  at  the  Italian  Opera  was  raised 
by   the   famous   Tamburini,  who   wished   to   be   heard 

4 


34  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

m  it,  but  the  authorities  controlhng  the  Imperial  Opera 
availed  themselves  cf  an  old  bye-law  prohibiting  the 
translation  of  operas  by  Russian  composers  into 
Italian. 

At  the  epoch  at  which  "  Esmeralda "  was  written, 
Dargomijsky  was  to  a  great  extent  under  the  influence 
of  Meyerbeer,  whose  "  Robert  le  Diable  "  had  captured 
Paris  in  1831,  and  of  Halevy ;  and  it  is  therefore  no 
surprise  to  find  that  the  style  in  which  his  first  oper- 
atic venture  was  written  is  closely  akin  to  that  of  the 
composers  mentioned,  and  that  there  is  nothing  posi- 
tively original  in  its  music.  There  is  a  feature,  how- 
ever, worthy  of  notice.  The  remarkable  mastery,  which 
Dargomijsky  subsequently  attained  in  the  domain  of 
the  vocal,  is  here  foreshadowed;  the  question  of  set- 
ting the  text  in  such  wise  as  to  facilitate  declamation, 
a  study  to  which  later  Russian  operatic  composers 
were  to  devote  no  little  attention,  had  already  been 
addressed  in  "Esmeralda." 

In  1848  Dargomijsky  determined  again  to  seek  the 
protection  of  the  operatic  directorate,  and  he  presented 
a  work  originally  designed  as  a  cantata,  now  rear- 
ranged as  an  "  opera  ballet."  This,  entitled  "  The 
Triumph  of  Bacchus,"  was  inspired  by  Pushkin's  dra- 
matic poem.  The  composer  was  not  this  time  kept 
long  in  doubt  as  to  the  intentions  of  the  powers.  He 
received  an  instant  and  decisive  refusal  of  his  work. 
The  rebuff  does  not  appear  to  have  caused  so  great  a 
disappointment  as  to  plunge  its  victim  into  despair, 
but  for  some  little  while  he  withdrew  his  attention 
from  the  dramatic  sphere  of  his  art,  and  occupied  him- 
self in  the  composition  of  a  number  of  songs, 
"  romances  "  and  duets  which  contributed  at  that  time 


"RUSSALKA."  35 

far  more  to  the  spreading  cf  his  reputation,  we  are 
assured,  than  did  the  production  of  "  Esmeralda." 

Dargomijsky's  neglect  of  the  opera  as  medium  did 
not  last  very  long,  and  m  his  next  venture  he  again 
turned  to  Pushkin  for  his  literary  material.  The  sub- 
ject which  he  ncvv  chose  was  that  of  "  Russalka,"  a 
favourite  legend  in  Russia,  relating  to  a  water  sprite 
whose  behaviour  resembles  that  of  a  siren.  The 
national  poet's  adaptation  of  this  legend  is  a  poem  m 
dialogue  which  is  constructed  in  such  fashion  as  to 
render  it  peculiarly  fitting  for  dramatic  treatment ; 
consequently  its  arrangement  for  theatrical  purposes 
imposed  but  a  slight  task  upon  Dargomijsky,  who 
was  able  to  emplo}-.  unaltered,  a  large  amount  of 
Pushkin's  material.  To  the  setting  of  this  were  added 
the  choruses  and  dances  indispensable  in  securing 
the  necessary  spectacular  effect.  Much  stress  has 
been  laid  upon  Dargomijsky's  advantage  in  being 
able  to  work  upon  the  actual  poetic  material,  as 
against  the  considerable  disadxantage  at  which  most 
composers  are  placed  m  having  to  rely  upon  the  work 
of  a  librettist,  who,  with  the  best  intentions,  is  often 
nevertheless  baffled  in  his  work  by  the  conflicting 
claims  on  the  one  hand  of  the  original,  and  on  the 
other  of  his  reproduction  and  the  purpose  for  which  it 
is  destined.  Dargomijsky  profited  to  the  full  by  this 
advantage  and  as  a  result  the  score  of  "  Russalka " 
was  of  a  quality  which  did  not  fail  to  earn  for  him, 
m  contemporary  opinion,  the  distinction  of  being  con- 
sidered the  worthy  successor  of  Glinka  in  the  region 
of  opera. 

As  to  the  style  and  general  design  of  the  work, 
opinion  is,  however,  divided,  for  whereas  one  writer,  a 


36  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Frenchman,  compliments  Dargomijsky  on  his  fidehty 
to  the  practice  of  inchiding  the  traditional  solos  and 
concerted  vocal  numbers  at  that  time  inseparable  from 
Franco-Italian  opera,  M.  Cm,  who  at  the  time  of  writ- 
ing, was  evidently  already  intent  on  inaugurating 
his  propaganda  in  active  repudiation  of  the  claims 
of  the  operatic  "star,"  blames  the  composer  for  the 
inclusion  of  "arias,  duets,  trios  and  concerted  items," 
which  he  characterises  as  a  demonstration  of  Dar- 
gomijsky's  inferiority.  ^I.  Cui  allows  that  the  com- 
poser has  reached  great  heights  in  dramatic  effect,  but 
makes  a  categorical  division  of  the  quality  of  the 
work.  Whilst  deprecating  the  inclusion  of  detached 
numbers,  he  is  immensely  impressed  by  the  amount  of 
artistic  truth  in  the  recitatival  sections  of  "  Russalka  " 
which  IS  in  this  particular,  he  sa}'s,  entirely  free  from 
worn-out  commonplaces  and  annoying  conventionali- 
ties. He  further  compliments  the  composer  upon  his 
success  in  giving  to  the  music  a  complexion  which  is 
invariably  in  keeping  with  the  text,  so  that  every  dra- 
matic detail  appears  to  have  sprung,  together  with  its 
musical  accompaniment,  from  a  single  mind. 

In  view  of  these  opinions,  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  comparative  coolness  with  which  this  opera 
was  received  on  its  production  in  1856  at  the  now  re- 
constructed and  rechristened  Maryinsky  Theatre,  St. 
Petersburg,  was  ascribed  to  its  departure  from  the 
approved  Italian  mode  which  had  still  a  considerable 
following. 

The  half-hearted  reception  of  "Russalka"  once  more 
drove  its  composer  from  the  rocky  path  of  opera, 
and  for  four  years  he  again  devoted  himself  to  the 
creation  of  songs  in  which  region  his  work  is  as  varied 


DARGOMIJSKY'S    SUCCESS    IN   BELGIUM.  37 

as  it  is  copious.  Dargomijsky's  songs  and  "romances" 
arc  illustrative  of  the  whole  range  of  emotion,  but 
some  of  the  best  specimens  are  in  a  vein  of  humour  or 
of  satire.  His  Eastern  examples  prove  him  to  be  the 
possessor  of  that  unfailing  instinct  for  the  artistic 
portrayal  of  the  Orient,  which  not  only  characterises 
the  work  of  the  Slav,  but  is  so  frequent  an  agent  in 
the  choice  of  a  medium. 

In  1864  Dargomijsky  left  Russia  with  the  intention 
of  acquainting  Western  Europe  with  his  music.  He 
failed  entirely  to  gam  a  hearing  either  in  France  or 
Germany,  but  the  Belgians,  who  have  since  shown  a 
considerable  regard  for  Russian  music,  gave  him  a 
particularly  warm  welcome.  The  works  chosen  by  him 
for  this  pilgrimage  were  excerpts  from  "Russalka" 
and  three  orchestral  pieces,  "  Kazachok,"  "  Russian 
Legend "  and  "  Dance  of  the  Mummers." 


V. 

"THE    STOXE   GUEST"    AND    "THE   FIVE." 

BEFORE  proceeding"  to  a  detailed  discussion  of 
Dargomijsky's  last  and  in  man)-  respects  most 
important  opera  it  is  necessarv  somewhat  to  antici- 
pate the  actual  course  of  events  in  Russian  musical 
history,  and  to  refer  to  the  little  band  of  five  musicians 
who  came  to  regard  "The  Stone  Guest"  as  a  model 
which  embodied  the  cardinal  principles  of  operatic 
construction.  This  group  of  nationalists  and  idealists 
owed  its  formation,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  meeting 
in  1857  between  Balakireff,  its  "father,"  and  Cui,  its 
"prophet."  Soon  after  making  the  acquaintance  of 
Glinka,  Balakireff  found  in  Cui,  a  youth  of  about  the 
same  age,  a  congenial  companion  with  whom  he  could 
profitably  discuss  the  projects  which  he  had  founded 
upon  the  ideas  engendered  b\'  Glinka's  music.  A  little 
later  ^loussorgsky  presented  himself  to  Balakireff, 
with  whom  he  wished  to  take  lessons,  and  speedily 
became  a  member  of  the  circle.  In  1856  he  had  become 
acquainted  with  Borodin,  but  saw  little  of  him  until 
1862,  when  Borodin  was  introduced  by  him  to  Bala- 
kireff.   Rimsky-Korsakoff,  the  youngest  of  the  five,  had 


/ESTHETIC    PRINCIPLES    OF    THE    "FIVE."  39 

met  Balakireff  in  the  previous  year.  He  at  once  became 
a  disciple,  but  was  prevented  by  absence  from  a  close 
intercourse  and  an  active  co-operation  with  the  others 
until  some  three  years  later.  These  five  men  had 
widely  differing  temperaments,  but  were  united  by 
their  common  recognition  of  the  ideals  of  nationalism 
and  sincerity  in  music.  They  wished  to  form  a 
national  style  as  a  medium  for  the  expression  in  music 
of  national  characteristics,  to  preserve  in  their  music, 
even  when  associated  with  drama,  its  intrinsic  value  as 
absolute  music,  and  to  make  vocal  music  a  source  from 
which  a  clear  psychologic  exposition  of  the  text  should 
flow. 

Of  great  importance  also  were  the  canons  laid  down 
with  regard  to  the  structure  and  substance  of  opera. 
The  scenic  arrangements  were  to  be  entirely  dependent 
upon  the  relations  between  the  characters  and  upon 
the  course  of  the  drama  as  narrative.  There  was  to 
be  a  wholesale  repudiation  of  the  inanities  of  Italian 
opera  and  an  attempt  to  continue  the  work  of  Glinka 
and  Dargcmijsky  m  freeing  Russian  music  from 
Italianisation,  a  parasite  at  that  time  threatening  it 
with  ultimate  extinction,  slowly  but  none  the  less  surely. 
The  music  of  opera  must  be  composed  primarily 
with  the  object  of  illustrating  the  text  and  of  reveal- 
ing its  essential  and  vital  significance.  The  subject 
of  the  drama  must  be  worthy  and  its  treatment  digni- 
fied. The  vocal  artists  must  not  only  be  trained  to  a 
high  pitch  of  technical  efficiency,  but  must  be  imbued 
with  a  respect  for  the  work  and  must  be  capable  of 
a  self-effacement,  when  such  was  demanded  by  the 
interests  of  the  work,  hitherto  undreamed  of.  The 
scenerv  must   alwavs  be  m  thoroufjh  accord  with  the 


40  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

drama  and  arranged  in  a  fashion  befitting  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  piece.  The  departments  of  stage  pageantry 
and  ballet  must  be  cultivated,  but  the  composer  must 
never  allow  himself  to  introduce  these  features  unless 
their  presence  entire!}-  justified  the  dramatic  situation. 

Such  were  the  ideals  of  the  "  Five." 

They  may  be  epitomised  as  a  passionate  desire  for 
a  nationalistic  art,  which,  by  embodying  the  qualities 
of  purity,  legitimacy  and  sincerity,  should  render  itself 
safe  from  any  and  every  contamination. 

At  first  blush  these  principles  might  easily  be  sup- 
posed to  have  sprung  from  a  Wagnerian  origin.  At 
this  time,  however,  Wagner's  music  was  little  known  in 
Russia,  and  the  nationalist  composers,  moreover,  did 
not  by  any  means  see  eye  to  eye  with  the  German  re- 
former; they  wished  particularly  to  avoid  the  attach- 
ment of  a  predominant  importance  to  the  orchestra, 
and  they  were  desirous  of  defining  and  adopting  a 
compromise  between  w^hat  was  the  earlier  Wagnerian 
conception — a  purely  lyrical  opera — and  what  Wagner 
actually  achieved  in  his  "Ring" — virtually  a  sym- 
phonic opera.  We  have  from  M.  Cui,  the  historian 
of  the  group,  a  quite  definite  statement  with  regard 
to  the  views  of  his  circle  upon  Wagner's  operatic 
music.  "  I  would  like,"  he  says,  "  to  preserve  my  com- 
patriots from  the  dangerous  contagion  of  Wagner's 
decadence;  ....  whoever  admires  his  operas  holds 
Glinka  as  a  writer  of  vaudevilles  !"  This  is  obviously 
dictated  by  a  temperamental  aversion  from  the  Wag- 
nerian musical  style,  but  elsewhere  M.  Cui  actually 
avows  that  in  his  opinion  the  reforms  operating  in  the 
works  of   Glinka  and  Dargomijsky   and   in  those  of 


DARGOMIJSKY    AND   THE    "FIVE."  4I 

his  friends,  Iirvg  but  a  few  points  of  contact  with 
those  of  the  "  German  innovator." 

On  his  return  from  the  Western  tour,  Dargomijsky 
came  closely  into  touch  with  this  group  of  five  musi- 
cians, whom  he  found  already  agreed  upon  the  gen- 
eral merits  of  "  Russalka  "  and  with  the  excellence  of 
its  "melodic  recitative"  m  particular.  Once  Dar- 
gomijsky had  been  made  acquainted  in  detail  with 
their  combined  aspirations,  he  allied  himself  to  them 
with  enthusiasm,  and  determined  forthwith  to  write 
an  opera,  which,  in  every  respect,  should  exemplify 
the  principles  of  the  new  Russian  school.  For  this 
work  he  chose  as  literary  basis  the  incident  of  the  statue 
m  "  Don  Juan,"  and  employed  the  version  offered  ready 
to  hand  by  Pushkin's  poem,  "  The  Stone  Guest."  "  With 
a  hardihood,"  says  ]\I.  Calvocoressi,  "  unparalleled  at 
that  time  in  the  annals  of  musical  history  and  which 
is  only  to  be  compared  with  that  of  Debussy  when 
planning  his  '  Pelleas  et  IMelisande,'  Dargomijsky 
chose  in  place  of  the  conventional  libretto — written 
with  the  special  purpose  of  its  musical  realisation  in 
view — the  actual  text  of  Pushkin  himself."* 

In  this  work  Dargomijsky  developed  his  idea  of 
legitimac}'  in  the  relation  of  song  to  speech  to  its  limit, 
and  he  reveals  therein  his  preoccupation  with  the  task 
of  making  the  music  at  all  points  the  handmaid  of 
the  text,  the  sense  of  the  libretto  being  invariably  ac- 
corded the  preference.  "  It  is  my  wish,"  he  wrote,  "  that 
the  music  should  interpret  the  words.  I  have  not  the 
slightest  intention  of  reducing  music  to  a  mere  pastime 


*  Pushkin's    version    differs   considerably    from    that   of    Da 
Ponte,  used  by  Mozart. 


42  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

for  the  benefit  of  the  dilettanti.  For  me  the  truth  is 
indispensable."  He  succeeded  to  the  full  in  realising 
this  artistic  project,  but  it  must  be  understood  that 
"  The  Stone  Guest "  stands  in  relation  to  the  art  of 
which  it  became  "  the  gospel,"  rather  as  that  of  a  peda- 
gogue's textbook  to  the  creation  of  genius,  than  as  a 
complete  and  inspired  work.  But  of  its  acceptance  by 
the  group,  to  whom  it  became  known  as  "the  Gospel," 
there  is  no  shadow  of  a  doubt,  for  in  the  words  of  '\L 
("ui  :  "The  last  work  of  Dargomijsky  constitutes  for 
us  the  key-stone  of  the  new  Russian  operatic  school." 

The  work  was  not  destined,  however,  to  be  finished 
])\'  the  hand  which  began  it.  Dargomijsky  succumbed 
to  the  effects  of  an  aneurism  m  January,  1869,  having 
entrusted  its  completion,  on  his  deathbed,  to  M.  Cui, 
who  occupied  himself  with  an  unfinished  scene,  and  to 
Rimsky-Korsakoff,  who  faithfully  followed  the  in- 
structions given  him  as  to  orchestration. 

It  was  not  publicly  performed  until  February,  1872. 
A  difficulty  arose  owing  to  the  price  placed  upon  his 
work  by  the  composer  exceeding  that  fixed  by  an  old 
Russian  law,  ;^i6o  for  an  opera  by  a  native  composer. 
The  amount,  ^^330,  was  ultimateh'  raised  by  public 
subscription. 

With  -the  public  the  work  had  a  poor  reception,  and 
many  of  the  critics  expressed  opinions,  which  time  has 
confirmed,  with  respect  to  its  want  of  inspiration  and 
the  dryness  of  the  "melodic  recitative"  consequent 
upon  Dargomij sky's  determined  fidelity  to  his  ideal. 
Wilhelm  von  Lenz,  a  contemporary  writer,  speaks  of 
"  The  Stone  Guest "  as  a  recitative  m  three  acts,"  and 
^l.  Pougin,  in  1897,  allowed  himself  to  express,  intones 
filmost  reaching  the  pitch  of  indignation,  his  astonish- 


DARGOMIJSKY    COMPARED   WITH   GLINKA.  43 

ment  that  a  composer  should  become  the  victim  of 
such  an  obsession— the  critic  ignoring  any  likelihood 
of  Dargomij  sky's  ideal  being  ever  realised  with 
success.* 

What  was  in  truth  the  missing  factor — one  indis- 
pensable to  the  success  of  such  a  work  as  "The  Stone 
Guest" — was  the  possession  of  an  unending  flow  of 
melodic  inspiration,  such  as  was  the  gift  of  his  pre- 
decessor, Glinka.  Whereas  Glinka's  musical  creations 
were  "  spontaneously  lyrical,"  Dargomijsky  actually 
emphasised  his  limitations  by  adherence  to  the  fixed 
idea  of  "  melodic  recitative."  He  was,  of  course,  al- 
ready hampered  by  a  strictly  limited  musical  cduca- 
Licn,  and  did  not  cultivate,  like  Glinka,  a  potential 
eclecticism  b\-  travelling ;  with  the  exception  of  two 
journeys  to  Western  Europe,  he  spent  his  whole  life 
in  St.  Petersburg. 

His  reputation  as  an  operatic  master  rests  upon 
"Russalka,"  composed  while  yet  a  more  or  less  close 
follower  of  Glinka's  style,  and  as  a  musician  with  a 
purpose  (to  which  he  had  not  yet  sacrificed  himself), 
upon  his  songs,  which  may  be  regarded  as  an  artistic 
consummation  of  his  ideal.  He  is  further  to  be 
credited  with  the  introduction  of  the  element  of 
humour  into  Russian  opera  and  of  satire  into  Russian 
music.  Gogol,  the  author  of  "The  Inspector-General," 
is  described  by  a  literary  historian  as  having  "  snatched 
the  branding-irons  of  satire  from  the  trembling  hands 
of  Kantemir,  Von  Visine,  Kryloff  and  Griboiedoff 
....,"    but    Dargomijsky   may   be   said  to  have  in- 


*  Debussy's   "' Pelleas  et  Melisaiide  "    (published  in   1902)   is 
virtually  a  recitative  in  five  acts. 


44  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

vented    the    procedure    of    employing    art-music    as    a 
means  of  caricaturing  the  foibles  of  his  generation. 

The  symphonic  works,  not  already  mentioned,  which 
holds  an  important  place  in  the  history  of  Russian 
orchestral  development,  are  "  Baba-Yaga,"  a  descrip- 
tive fantasia  based  upon  a  well-known  Russian  legend, 
and  a  "Finnish  Fantasia." 


VI. 

SEROFF    AND    LVOFF. 

THE  names  of  these  two  musicians  are  snigularly 
unfamiliar  to  the  casual  observer  of  musical 
origins  and  historxs.  Yet  the  first,  exercising  the 
functions  of  criticism  and  composition,  had  inter- 
course with  several  contemporaries  whose  names  are 
, household  words  with  the  musical  amateur.  Tchaikov- 
sky, for  instance,  m  spite  of  a  personal  repugnance, 
speaks  warmly  of  Seroff's  operatic  work,  and  Wagner 
refers  to  him  as  "  a  remarkable  man  of  great  intelli- 
gence." As  to  the  second,  I^voff,  neither  his  authorship 
of  the  Russian  national  anthem,  nor  his  influence  on 
Russian  church  music  have  succeeded  in  arousing  any 
particular  interest  m  hira  on  the  part  of  the  Western 
musical  public. 

Alexander  Nicholaevich  Seroff  w^as  born  on  January 
23,  1820,  in  St.  Petersburg.  His  father,  a  lawyer  hold- 
ing a  government  appointment,  was  not  kindly  dis- 
posed towards  the  musical  art,  and  Seroff  owed  his 
introduction  to  the  world  of  music  to  his  meeting  with 

Stassoff,  the  art  critic,  who  became  an  ardent  champion 

45 


46  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

of  the  nationalistic  school,  and,  in  that  capacity,  a 
redoubtable  opponent  of  Seroff.  Seroff  gave  early 
manifestations  of  the  possession  of  an  exceptional  in- 
telligence and  of  a  variety  of  talents.  His  tastes  led 
hiin  to  the  study  of  languages,  of  natural  history,  the 
plastic  arts,  the  drama,  and,  above  all,  of  music,  to 
which  his  affections  accorded  a  marked  preference. 

He  had  some  piano  lessons  from  an  elderly  rela- 
tive, a  lady,  and  soon  after  entering  the  School  of 
Jurisprudence  in  1834  he  began  studying  the  'cello 
with  Carl  Schuberth,  the  newly-appointed  'cellist  to 
the  Czar  Nicholas  I.  These  lessons,  which  did  not 
last  long,  together  with  those  received  in  youth,  con- 
stitute practically  the  whole  of  his  assisted  study,  and 
for  the  rest  he  was  entirely  self-taught.  When,  in 
1840,  he  left  the  School  of  Jurisprudence,  he  was 
forced  against  his  inclinations,  which  were  denied  in 
deference  to  the  parental  wish,  to  accept  a  government 
clerkship.  But  his  whole  being  was  in  revolt  against 
the  nature  of  the  work,  and  not  only  did  he  spend 
every  spare  moment  in  studying  musical  literature  of 
all  kinds,  but  allowed  his  official  work  to  be  inter- 
fered with  by  the  consideration  of  an  extensive  plan 
for  the  improvement  of  musical  biography,  which  he 
considered  crude  and  unphilosophical  in  its  treatment 
by  past  writers.  He  received  a  very  severe  blow,  how- 
ever, in  his  transference  to  a  post  m  the  Crimea, 
whither  he  was  sent  in  1848  as  vice-president  of  the 
Tribunal.  The  stagnant  life  of  a  small  provincial 
town,  Simferopol,  proved  a  forbidding  obstacle  to 
artistic  development,  and  the  step  taken  at  this  time 
by  the  exile  as  a  means  of  advancement,  that  of  secur- 
ing   a    course    of    theoretical    instruction    by    corres- 


SEROFI--   AS    LECTURER   AND    CRITIC.  4; 

poiidence*  did  not  turn  out  at  all  successfully.  To  his 
official  occupation  he  remained  thoroughly  indifferent, 
and  vouchsafed  it  the  minimum  attention.  Finally, 
after  repeated  vain  appeals  to  his  father,  he  decided 
to  respond  to  the  call  of  music,  and  to  the  despair  of 
his  undiscerning  parent,  he  embarked  upon  a  musical 
career. 

His  natural  literary  bent  led  him  into  the  held  of 
criticism,  which  at  that  time  was  more  or  less  an  arid 
waste  of  biassed  and  ill-considered  expressions  of 
opinion.  His  first  articles,  which  created  a  strong 
impression,  were  published  in  a  literary  review.  They 
were  devoted  to  an  attack  upon  Oulibisheff,+  a  musical 
litterateur  of  some  distinction,  who  idolised  ]\Iozart 
and  depreciated  Beethoven,  especially  m  regard  to  the 
latter's  last  phrase.  Seroff  subsequently  became  con- 
tributor to  a  number  of  periodicals,  including  the 
"  Contemporary,"  the  (French)  "  Journal  of  St.  Peters- 
burg" and  the  "Dramatic  and  Musical  Review."  He 
became  also  an  industrious  lecturer.  During  the  winter 
of  1858-9  he  gave  a  series  of  lectures  on  the  historical 
and  aesthetic  aspects  of  musical  theory  at  the  Univer- 
sity ;  later,  in  1 864,  he  devoted  a  series  to  music-drama, 
which  were  repeated  at  the  invitation  of  the  ]\Ioscow 
Conservatoire  in  1865;  and  in  1870,  six  lectures  on  the 
development  of  opera  were  given  before  the  St.  Peters- 
burg Arts  Club. 

Unfortunately,   his   intellectual   qualities   were   seri- 


*  From  Hiuike.  a  theorist  of  repute,  domiciled  in  St.  Peters- 
burg. 

T  Author  of  "'A  New  Biography  of  Mozart,"  from  which 
Otto  Jahn  derived  a   considerable  amount  of  material. 


48  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSlC. 

ously  discounted  by  a  polemical  acerbity  which  de- 
tracted from  the  intrinsic  value  of  his  critical  pro- 
nouncements. Gustave  Bertrand,*  while  on  a  visit  to 
St.  Petersburg-  in  1874,  wrote  an  article  for  a  French 
paper,  after  a  study  of  Seroff's  writings,  in  which  he 
arrives  at  what  may  be  presumed  to  be  a  just  estimate 
of  the  Russian's  critical  failings.  He  sums  up  Seroff 
as  a  sort  of  "superior  person"  not  by  any  means  want- 
ing in  recognition  of  his  own  undoubted  merits,  and 
quite  intolerant  m  regard  to  the  judgment  of  con- 
temporaries whom  he  considered  less  fitted.  There  can 
have  been  no  Russian  musical  writer,  says  Bertrand, 
with  whom  Seroff  did  not  engage  in  combat,  and  he 
did  not  scruple  when  hard  pressed  to  resort  to  scurril- 
ous invective  and  abuse.  The  French  writer  further 
commits  himself  to  the  view  that  Seroff's  method  of 
demolishing  an  opposing  theory  before  bringing  for- 
ward his  own,  was  not  b\-  any  means  devoid  of  dis- 
mgenuousness,  and  places  him  in  the  same  category 
as  Weber  and  W^agner,  both  of  whom  were  alive  to 
the  advantage  of  such  procedure. 

Seroff's  disdain  does  not  appear  to  ha\'e  been  con- 
fined to  the  opinions  of  his  compatriots;  no  European 
musical  authority  whose  precepts  or  works  happened 
to  be  111  conflict  with  the  argument  propounded  at  a 
given  moment,  was  spared  it. 

But  the  most  astonishing  feature  of  Seroff's  collec- 
tive critical  work  is  his  amazing  and  unashamed  self- 
contradiction.  An  example,  cited  by  M.  Pougin, 
should  suffice.  In  1856  Seroff  indulged  in  an  uncom- 
promising freedom  of  language  in  differing  with  Liszt 

*   A   French   critic,    di.stingiiisbed  as  musical   archaeologist. 


SEROFF    AND    WAGNER.  49 

and  other  supporters  of  Wagner,  as  to  the  merit  of 
that  composer's  output.  He  characterised  Wagner  as 
a  dilettante  who  had  never  completed  his  studies ;  the 
melodic  element  in  his  works  was  of  the  feeblest;  the 
harmonisation  was  excessively  wearisome  and  the  or- 
chestration a  jejune  and  pretentious  attempt  to  imi- 
tate Aleyerbeer  and  Berlioz.  In  the  very  same  journal 
two  years  later  he  said  th'it  no  one  but  a  complete 
idiot  could  fail  to  appreciate  the  abundant  glow  of 
life,  poetry  and  beauty  in  Wagner's  lyric  works,  and 
in  a  final  descent  to  the  depths  of  obloquy,  he 
exhorted  "  all  anti-Wagnerian  cretins  to  cease  vent- 
ing their  impotent  anger  upon  those  immortal 
works." 

Seroff's  mental  palate  must  certainly  have  been  in- 
sensible to  these  early  opinions,  which  he  digested  so 
easily  and  so  soon.  Apart,  however,  from  these  over- 
facile  changes  of  view,  it  should  be  noted  that  Seroff's 
polemical  dissertations  upon  operatic  structure  have 
rendered  brilliant  service  in  enabling  students  of  that 
art-form  to  arrive  at  a  clear  perception  of  real 
values. 

The  later  view,  so  violently  expressed,  as  to  the 
superlative  merit  of  W^agner's  works,  was  the  outcome 
of  a  visit  to  Wagner  in  1858.  It  should  be  observed 
that  whatever  the  indifference  with  which  Seroff  must 
have  regarded,  or  a  least  appeared  to  regard,  his  own 
change  of  opinion,  the  modification  was,  at  any  rate, 
in  a  right  direction.  The  tardy  expiation  of  the  ordin- 
ary critical  misjudgment  has  little  but  its  urbanity  to 
recommend  it ! 

Seroff  had,  during  his  visit,  imbibed  sufficient  of 
the  strong  drink  of  Wagnerism  to  become  intoxicated, 

5 


50  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

and  on  his  return  from  Lucerne  he  began  to  take  up 
the  cudgels  on  behalf  of  the  Wagnerian  doctrines  re- 
lating to  music-drama.  This  was  accompanied  by  a 
passionate  repudiation  of  the  tenets  of  the  nationalistic 
group  who,  as  will  be  remembered,  were  in  favour  of 
the  treatment  of  the  operatic  orchestra  as  a  dignified 
accessory  rather  than  an  autocratic  prnicipal,  and  at 
the  same  time  he  inaugurated  a  single-handed  cam- 
paign against  Anton  Rubinstein,  whose  musical  m- 
fluence  in  Russia  he  believed  to  be  pernicious.  At  a 
time  when  Wagner  was  little  known,  when  the  nation- 
alistic school  was  beginning  to  make  itself  felt  and 
when  Rubinstein  was  enjoying  a  positive  adulation  at 
the  hands  of  all  classes  of  Russian  society,  Seroff's 
attitude  in  these  matters  was  attributed,  naturally 
enough,  to  a  deplorable  wrong-headedness,  a  verdict 
which  a  recollection  of  his  previous  critical  behaviour 
did  everything  to  support.  Seroff's  reputation  as 
musical  litterateur  began  consequently  to  wane,  and  it 
was  a  distinctly  fortunate  circumstance  for  him  that 
about  this  epoch  in  his  stormy  career  he  felt  attracted 
towards  the  creative  side  of  his  art,  a  tendency  which 
had  its  origin  m  the  Wagnerian  domination. 

During  the  winter  of  i860  he  witnessed  a  perform- 
ance by  the  celebrated  Ristoriof  Giacometti's  "  Judith," 
and  his  admiration  for  the  work,  his  belief  in  its  suita- 
bility as  a  subject  and  his  strong  desire  for  creative 
activity,  were  responsible  for  his  resolve  to  adopt  it 
as  the  basis  of  an  opera. 

As  a  whole-hearted  Wagnerian,  he  naturally  under- 
took to  provide  his  own  libretto.  He  was  wise  enough, 
however,  to  seek  aid  both  in  the  planning  of  the  dra- 
matic construction  of  the  work  and  in  the  revision  of 


PRODUCTION   OF    "JUDITH."  5  I 

his  verses,*  which  he  entrusted  to  the  poet,  Maikoff.t 
whom  he  had  doubtless  met  in  the  Department  of  Cen- 
sorship of  Foreign  Newspapers. i  With  little  experi- 
ence as  composer  at  his  command,  Seroff  must  have 
been  faced  with  many  an  obstacle,  but  after  two  years 
of  unremitting  labour,  he  was  able  to  bring  forward 
the  completed  opera  in  1862.  It  was  first  performed 
in  1863  at  St.  Petersburg,  under  the  most  favourable 
auspices,  every  possible  attention  being  paid  to  casting 
and  rehearsal. 

"Judith"  was  a  tremendous  success,  not  only  with  the 
public,  but  with  the  critics.  That  a  man  who,  until 
the  age  of  forty-three,  had  shown  no  particular  apti- 
tude for  composition,  should  suddenly  bring  forth  an 
opera  which  might  well  have  figured  as  the  crowning 
work  of  a  creative  career,  was  naturally  regarded  as  a 
phenomenon. 

Tchaikovsky,  writing  of  "Judith"  to  his  patroness, 
von  Meek,  in  1872,  held  forth  at  great  length  upon 
the  subject  of  Seroff's  character  and  w^ork,  and  he 
makes  it  quite  clear  that  there  was  nothing  half-hearted 
either  in  the  public,  the  critical,  or  his  own  private 
esteem  of  the  opera.     M.  Cui,  who  had  no  reason  to 


*  M.  Poiigin  seem.s  to  regard  the  fact  that  Seroff  Dlaced 
Maikoff's  amendments  in  brackets  as  a  remarkable  lap.se  into 
fairness  ! 

t  The  author  of  "The  Princess"  was  particularly  well 
suited  for  the  work,  having  passed  some  years  in  Italy  and 
being  thus  familiar  with  the  tongue  in  which  the  original  was 
written. 

t  Seroff  had  secured  this  fairly  lucrative  and  not  too  ab- 
sorbing appointment. 


52  A    SHORT    HISTORY    OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

be  pleased  with  so  strong  and  determnied  an  opponent 
of  the  nationalistic  school,  is  able  to  congratulate 
Seroff  on  his  adoption  of  what  the  former  considers 
a  reasonable  compromise  in  the  matter  of  the  relation 
of  the  orchestra  to  the  dramatic  and  vocal  interest.  M. 
Cui,  shuddering  at  the  very  thought  of  a  Russian  com- 
mitting a  total  sacrifice  of  vocal  independence,  notes 
with  satisfaction  that  Seroff  could  not  bring  himself 
to  subscribe  to  such  a  procedure.  Generally  speaking, 
the  reasoned  approbation  of  "Judith"  can  be  sum- 
marised by  reference  to  the  encomiastic  utterances  of 
Tchaikovsk}',  who  sa)'s  that  the  opera  is  written  with 
unusual  warmth  and  sometimes  rises  to  great  emo- 
tional heights,  and  to  the  occasional  depreciations  of 
M.  Pougin,  who,  while  acknowledging  the  beauty  of 
some  concerted  numbers  and  of  the  spectacular  music, 
finds  fault  with  the  recitative,  which  he  describes  as 
at  times  heavy  and  monotonous. 

The  successful  production  of  "Judith,"  besides 
causing  an  extraordinary  accession  to  its  composer's 
already  abundant  store  of  self-esteem,  was  instru- 
mental in  exciting  his  desire  to  make  a  further  essay 
of  the  kind. 

To  someone  who  was  hardy  enough  to  remonstrate 
with  him  for  not  choosing  a  national  subject  for  his 
first  opera.  Seroff  excused  himself  on  the  ground  of 
not  wishing  to  be  branded  an  imitator  of  Glinka,  and 
on  being  further  taxed  by  this  very  bold  interlocutor 
with  having  nevertheless  imitated  Wagner,  he  ex- 
plained that,  while  adherence  to  the  example  of  Glinka 
would  have  been  quoted  to  his  disadvantage,  his  Wag- 
nerian model  was  not  familiar  to  the  Russian  public, 
and  that  "Judith"  might  be  regarded  as  paving  the 


"rogneda."  53 

way  to  an  ulLiinatc  understanding  of  the  great  Ger- 
man's works. 

For  his  E;econd  opera,  "  Rogneda,'  he  chose  a 
national  subject  which  he  derived  from  a  remote  his- 
torical period.  It  15  related  to  the  adoption  in  Russia 
of  Christianit)',  which  occurred  in  the  tenth  centur\-. 
Seroff's  cho'ce  of  material  is  said  to  ha\e  l:)een  in- 
fluenced Ijy  the  opportunity  thus  offered  of  contrast- 
ing the  pagan  with  the  Christian  element,  and  it  is 
upon  this  contraposition  that  the  musical  interest  of 
the  work  is  based.  He  again  elected  to  undertake  the 
text,  and  seems  this  time  to  have  worked  unaMed. 

The  score  of  "Rogneda"  is  remarkable  for  its  com- 
poser's secession  from  Wagnerian  influences — a  retro- 
gression to  the  style  of  Halevy  is  notable  therein.  In 
the  opinion  of  M.  Bertrand  the  projection  of  the  con- 
trasted dramatic  atmosphere  is  somewhat  too  marked ; 
Seroff  seems  to  have  been  a  little  over-anxious  in  the 
matter  of  emphasising  the  contrasted  elements  and, 
in  his  employment  of  national  and  religious  material, 
appears  to  have  created  an  effect  of  patchwork  which 
was  far  from  his  intention.  Tchaikovsky  considered 
that  "  Rogneda"  was  of  a  much  lower  order  of  achieve- 
ment than  "Judith,"  and  does  not,  m  the  manner  of 
expressing  his  opinion,  give  one  any  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  his  dislike  of  Seroff  influenced  him  in  form- 
ing it.  "  Rogneda  "  was  performed  for  the  first  time 
in  1865,  two  years  and  a  half  after  "Judith,"  at  the 
same  .  theatre.  It  was  immensely  successful,  and 
created  a  sensation  surpassing  even  that  following  the 
production  of  the  earlier  work.  Some  idea  as  to  the 
extent  of  the  attention  it  attracted  can  be  gathered 
from  the  circumstance  that  the   Emperor   granted   its 


54  A    SHORT   HISTORY    OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

composer  a  much-needed  pension  of  twelve  hundred 
roubles  (about  £120)  annually. 

It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  nnmediate  success 
and  the  principal  defect  of  this  opera  are  closely  re- 
lated. As  M.  Bertrand  points  out,  the  work  suffers 
somewhat  from  an  undue  stress  upon  its  contrasted 
material,  which  reveals  to  the  discerning  critic  that 
calculation  was  a  greater  factor  in  its  composition 
than  inspiration.  Scroffs  experience  as  a  critic  en- 
abled him  to  know  exactly  what  was  likely  to  please 
the  public,  and  his  vanity  must  have  been  such  as  to 
dictate  its  propitiation. 

This  success,  and  the  financial  relief  which  came  m 
its  train,  enabled  Seroff  to  rest  a  little  upon  his  laurels. 
Turning  his  attention  once  more  to  the  literary  side, 
he  showed  plainly  that  his  attainment  of  a  general 
popularity  as  a  composer  gave  him  such  confidence 
in  himself  as  to  encourage  him  to  believe  that  a  modi- 
fication of  his  antagonism  towards  his  nationalistic 
compatriots  might  now  be  adopted  without  loss  of 
dignity.  In  his  lectures  on  Glinka  and  Dargomijsky, 
given  before  the  Russian  Musical  Society  m  1866,  his 
tone  was  more  or  less  conciliatory. 

For  the  text  of  his  last  opera  he  chose  Ostrovsky's 
comedy,  "  The  Power  of  Evil."  This  work  is  sym- 
bolical of  Seroff's  last  period.  In  it  he  determined  to 
embody  the  application  of  Wagnerian  principles  to  a 
nationalistic  substance.  For  this  purpose  he  decided 
to  introduce  the  folk-song  element.  But  while  pos- 
sessing an  exceptionally  far-reaching  knowledge  of 
the  subject  of  folk-song,  his  musical  organism  was  not 
permeated  by  its  spirit  as  was  that  of  Glinka,  and  as 
is    that,    for    instance,    of    Sibelius.     "  The    Power    of 


"THE   POWER   OF   EVIL."  55 

Evil "  served  plainly  to  reveal  a  conspicuous  feeble- 
ness of  inspiration.  The  subject  itself,  like  most  of 
the  output  of  the  author  of  "  The  Storm,"  was  of  a 
decidedly  gloomy  nature  and  was  not  considered  par- 
ticularly suitable  for  musical  treatment.  Seroff  had 
not  completed  the  work  when,  in  1871,  he  died.  The 
task  of  orchestration  devolved  upon  his  pupil,  Solo- 
vieff,  now  an  esteemed  critic  and  composer.  On  its 
production  it  failed  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  public, 
and  time  has  sanctioned  this  indifference. 

The  failure  of  "The  Power  of  Evil"  would  doubt- 
less have  astonished  Seroff,  for  he  was  sufficiently  con- 
fident of  its  favourable  reception  to  begin  a  fourth 
opera  based  on  the  "Christmas  Eve  Revels"  of  Gogol, 
the  Russian  Dickens.  Some  of  the  material  has  since 
been  worked  up  by  his  wife,  a  consummate  musician, 
into  an  orchestral  suite,  published  in  1877. 

Seroff  wrote  several  works  outside  the  region  of  the 
theatre  :  a  "  Stabat  Mater,"  an  "  Ave  Maria,"  incidental 
music  to  "  Nero,"  a  "  Christmas  Song,"  a  "  Hopak  "  and 
a  "  Zaparogue  Dance  "  for  orchestra,  and  it  is  believed 
that  prior  to  beginning  "Judith"  he  had  composed 
fragments  of  a  work  which  proved  abortive. 

There  is  no  great  difficulty  m  correctly  placing 
Seroff  in  the  history  of  Russian  opera.  His  first  two 
dramatic  works  are  held  to  possess  no  mean  intrinsic 
value,  and  to  excel  in  the  domain  of  the  choral,  or- 
chestral and  spectacular.  The  reason  for  their  lack 
of  spontaneity  seems  fairly  clear,  namely,  that  Seroff 
was  impelled  to  enter  the  operatic  arena,  not  by  a  need 
for  musical  self-expression,  but  by  a  desire  to  provide 
example  as  a  fulfilment  of  his  own  theorising.  The 
supreme  importance  of  his  works  lies  therefore  in  their 


56  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

value  as  illustrations  of  the  various  methods  and  con- 
flicting theories  to  be  noted  in  a  survey  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Russian  operatic  school. 

Alexis  Feodorovich  Lvoff,  the  composer  of  the  Rus- 
sian national  anthem,  was  born  at  Reval  in  Esthonia, 
on  June  6,  1799.  He  was  the  son  of  Feodore  Lvoff, 
who  succeeded  Bortniansky  as  director  of  the  Imperial 
Court  Chapel  and  anent  whom  there  is  a  surprising 
dearth  of  biographical  material.  Musical  by  tendency 
and  advantageously  placed  as  to  environment,  Alexis 
Feodorovich  rapidly  attained  proficiency  on  the  violin, 
an  accomplishment  in  which  he  was  destined  to  excel, 
and  acquired  a  good  general  musicianship  under  the 
guidance  of  his  father.  The  circumstance  that  in 
Russia  it  was  for  a  long  time  the  custom  to  regard 
music  not  as  a  means  of  a  livelihood,  but  as  a  serious 
occupation  for  the  leisure  hour,  will  be  touched  upon 
later ;  it  is  sufficient  for  the  moment  to  note  that  young 
Lvoff  entered  the  army,  and  enjoying  rapid  promo- 
tion, was  appointed  adjutant  to  Nicholas  I,  ultim- 
ately attaining  the  rank  of  General.  His  musical 
studies  were  not,  however,  neglected ;  every  spare 
moment  was  devoted  to  the  artistic  object  of  his  pre- 
dilections. 

It  was  during  the  period  of  his  adjutancy  that  the 
circumstance  arose  which  led  to  his  composition  of  the 
national  anthem.  Prior  to  this,  the  Russians  had 
made  use  of  either  the  German  hymn  or  our  own.  If 
there  be  ground  for  the  proverbial  assumption  that 
song-making  is  a  function  of  greater  importance  to  a 
people  than  that  of  legislation,  then  Lvoff  is  un- 
doubtecll)'  worthy  of  his  fame  and  popularity,  which 
rest  largely  upon  this  achievement.     He  has  given  full 


ORIGIX   OF   RUSSIAX    NATIONAL   ANTHEM. 


:>/ 


particulars  regarding  the  creation  of  this  hymn  in  his 
memoirs  : 

"In  1833  I  accompanied  the  Emperor  Nicholas  on 
his  journeys  to  Pruss'a  and  Austria.  On  rcturring  to 
Russia,  I  was  informed  by  Count  Eenkcndcrff  that 
the  sovereign  had  expressed  a  regret  that  we  Russians 
possessed  no  national  h\-mn ;  being,  moreover,  tired  of 
the  English  tune  whxh  had  b^en  used  as  a  Scop-gap 
for  a  very  long  time,  he  commissioned  me  to  make  an 
attempt  to  write  a  Russian  anthem. 

"  This  momentous  duty  seemed  likel}'  to  prove  diffi- 
cult of  accomplishment.  In  recalling  the  British  an- 
them, '  God  Save  the  King,'  which  is  so  imposing,  the 
French  song,  so  full  of  originality,  and  the  Austrian 
hymn,  of  which  the  music  is  so  touching,  I  felt  and 
fully  appreciated  the  necessity  of  accomplishing 
something  which  would  be  robust,  stately,  stirring, 
national  m  character,  something  worthy  to  reverberate 
either  m  a  church,  through  the  soldiers'  ranks,  or 
amongst  a  crowd  of  people,  something  which  would 
appeal  alike  to  the  lettered  and  the  ignorant.  This 
consideration  absorbed  me,  and  I  was  perplexed  b\- 
the  problem  of  fulfilling  all  these  needs. 

"One  night,  on  returning  to  my  quarters  at  a  very 
late  hour,  I  composed  and  wrote  out  the  tune  of  the 
hymn  on  the  spur  of  the  moment.  Next  day  I  went 
to  Joukovsky*  and  asked  him  to  suggest  some  words; 
but  he  was  by  no  means  musical  and  had  a  lot  of 
trouble  in  adapting  them  to  the  minor  close  of  the  first 
cadence.      Subsequently   I   was   able  to  inform  Count 


*   It  will  be  remembered  that  Joukovsky  suggested  to  Glinka 
the  subject  of  ''A  Life  for  the  Czar." 


58  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Benkendorff  that  the  hymn  was  ready.  The  Emperor 
expressed  a  desire  to  hear  it,  and  came  on  November 
23,  1833,  to  the  Court  Chapel,  accompanied  by  the 
Empress  and  the  Grand  Duke  Michael.  I  had  assem- 
bled the  whole  choir  and  it  was  supported  by  two 
orchestras. 

"The  sovereign  ordered  the  h}mn  to  be  played  over 
several  times,  and  asked  to  hear  it  sung  without  ac- 
companiment, then  he  had  it  played  by  each  orchestra 
in  turn  and  finally  with  the  united  body  of  per- 
formers. His  Majesty  then  said  to  me  m  French : 
'  It  is  really  superb,'  and  there  and  then  he  commanded 
Count  Benkendorff  to  inform  the  ^Minister  of  War  that 
the  hymn  was  adopted  for  the  army.  This  measure 
was  officially  ratified  on  December  4,  1833.  The  first 
public  performance  took  place  on  December  11,  at  the 
Grand  Theatre,  Moscow.  The  Emperor  was  appar- 
ently desirous  of  submitting  my  work  for  the  approval 
of  the  Moscow  public.  On  December  25,  the  hymn 
resounded  through  the  halls  of  the  Winter  Palace  on 
the  occasion  of  the  blessing  of  the  colours. 

"  The  sovereign  graciously  presented  to  me  a  gold 
snuff-box  adorned  with  diamonds,  as  a  mark  of  the 
imperial  pleasure,  and  also  ordered  that  the  words 
'God  protect  the  Czar'*  should  be  added  to  the  armor- 
ial bearings  of  the  Lvoff  family." 

Twenty  years  or  so  later  the  anthem  was  ceremoni- 
ously performed  in  a  fashion  which  can  only  be  re- 
garded as  a  deliberate  labouring  of  the  obvious.  The 
following  account  was  given  by  the  "  Gazette  Musi- 
cale"  on  August  24,  1856:    "  Lvoff's  popular  Russian 

*  Tlie  first  line  of  the  anthem's  text. 


LVOFF   AS    OPERATIC   COMPOSER.  59 

anthem  will  be  sung  in  three  different  ways  on  the 
occasion  of  the  Emperor's  coronation,  during  the  dis- 
play of  a  firework  set-piece  which  will  represent,  m 
chronological  order,  the  portraits  of  the  Czirs  Peter 
the  Great,  Nicholas  and  Alexander  II.  The  first  time 
the  hymn  will  be  rendered  by  a  chorus  of  a  thousand 
voices ;  the  second  time  by  the  whole  chorus  and  the 
military  bands,  and  the  third  to  the  accompaniment 
of  cannons  which  will  be  discharged  by  electricit}'.'' 

Other  notable  recognitions  of  the  tune's  merits  are 
that  of  Gounod,  who  wrote  upon  it  a  fantasia  for 
piano  and  orchestra,  and  Tchaikovsky's  employment 
of  it  in  his  popular  "1812"  overture,  in  which  the 
theme  is  heard,  battling,  as  it  were,  with  the  "  Mar- 
seillaise." 

But  for  this  achievement  Lvoff's  name  as  a  com- 
poser would  be  a  good  deal  less  known  than  it  is.  He 
must,  however,  have  been  a  particularly  good  violin- 
ist, and  was  highly  esteemed  in  Russia  and  also  in 
Germany  as  a  quartet-leader.  His  own  string  quartet 
was  for  some  time  a  feature  m  the  musical  life  of  St. 
Petersburg.  In  1840  he  visited  Leipzig  and  Pans  as 
violinist  and  composer.  His  compositions  include 
various  dramatic  works :  "  The  Village  Bailiff,"  m 
three  acts,  which  was  produced  in  St.  Petersburg, 
"  Bianca  and  Gualtiero,"  composed  in  1845  and  per- 
formed at  St.  Petersburg  and  Dresden,  "  Undine,"  a 
fairy  opera  (1846),  produced  in  Vienna,  "  Starosta 
Boris"  (1854)  and  "The  Embroideress,"  in  one  act. 
None  of  them  was  particularly  successful.  He  also 
wrote  a  "  Stabat  Mater,"  six  psalms,  twenty -eight 
separate  chants  for  use  m  the  royal  chapel,  a  con- 
certo   for   violin,    "  The   Duel "   a    fantasia    for    violin 


6o  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSlAX   MUSlC. 

and  'cello,  twenty-four  caprices,  three  fantasias  for 
vicHn,  orchestra  and  chorus,  one  of  which  was  based 
on  Russian  soldiers'  songs,  and  a  number  of  vocal  and 
instrumental  works  of  minor  importance.  He  pub- 
lished, m  eleven  volumes,  an  enormous  collection  of 
ancient  chants  derned  from  the  ritual  of  the  Greco- 
Russian  Church,  arranged  in  four-part  harmonies. 

Eerlioz's  estimate  of  Lvoff  as  "  a  composer  of  r:ire 
talent"  is  obviously  of  Lttle  value,  and  it  seems  pro- 
bable that  the  Frenchman  was  favourably  disposed 
towards  ere  who  held  the  appointment  of  manager  of 
the  Impernl  Opera  and  had  invited  him  to  Russia  to 
give  concerts. 

Wagner  speaks  with  satisfaction  of  a  performance 
of  "  Rienzi,"  in  1844,  at  Dresden,  at  which  "these 
learned  judges  and  magnates  of  the  musical  world," 
Spontini,  Meyerbeer  and  I.voff,  were  together  present 
in  a  stage-box,  but  it  is  not  difficult  to  perceive  the 
disdain  which  lies  between  the  words  of  this  pompous 
description  and  which,  later,  in  1863,  was  no  longer 
dissembled;  W^agner  mentions  the  conclusion  of  a  con- 
tract with  Lvoff,  as  manager  of  the  jMoscow  Theatre, 
and  describes  him  as  being  "  a  very  insignificant  per- 
son ....  in  spite  of  the  orders  hanging  from  his 
neck." 

The  national  anthem  itself  cannot  be  regarded  as 
a  particularly  happy  inspiration,  for  beyond  its  tem- 
porary lapse  into  the  minor,  it  has  no  affinity  either 
with  Russian  popular  song  or  with  the  national  char- 
acter. 

In  1867  Lvoff's  hearing  began  to  fail,  and  he  retired 
from  military  service  and  went  to  live  on  his  estate  at 
Kovno.     There  he  died  in  December,  1870. 


PART    11. 
THE    NATIONALISTS. 


I. 

BALAKIREFF. 

SOME  attention  has  already  been  given,  when 
deahng  with  Dargomijsky,  to  the  band  of  five 
idealists  who  sought  to  interpret  the  nationalis- 
tic message  of  Glinka.  The  composer  of  ''A  Life  for 
the  Czar"  had  lacked  one  of  the  most  important  quali- 
ties of  the  reformer,  that  of  determination.  In  this 
connection  it  has  justly  been  said  of  him  by  his 
French  biographer,  ]\1.  Octave  Fouque,  that  it  was  not 
until  his  decease  that  he  became  an  innovator  and  a 
pioneer,  and  that  such  reforms  as  were  initiated  by 
him  were  unconscious  and  not  deliberate.  But  there 
need  be  little  fear  of  laying  too  much  stress  upon  the 
influence  exerted  by  Glinka,  whatever  its  nature,  upon 
the  group  of  nationalists.  His  first  opera  with  its 
historical  subject  may  be  regarded  as  containing  the 
germ  of  nationalism  from  which  have  sprung  Mous- 
sorgsky's  "  Boris  Godounoff "  and  his  "  Khovansh- 
china,"  Borodin's  "  Prince  Igor  "  and  Rimsky-Korsakoff's 
"  Pskovitianka "  ("Ivan  the  Terrible"),  whilst  the 
orientalism    of    *' Russian    and    Ludmilla"    has    with 

63 


64  A    SHORT   HISTORY    OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

every  justification  been  credited  with  the  origin  of  all 
that  eastern  flavour  which  characterises  so  many  of  the 
works  of  the  "  five  "  and  their  disciples. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  none  of  these  men  who 
undertook  the  active  propagation  of  Glinka's  gospel 
lived  entirely  by  the  practice  of  music  as  a  profession. 
Ralakireff  had  sufficient  fortune  to  enable  him  to 
devote  himself  to  his  art  without  financial  anxiet}' ; 
Borodin  had,  m  his  primary  profession  of  science,  an 
ample  means  of  support;  Cui  was  a  military  officer  of 
distinction ;  Rimsk\'-Korsakoff  did  not  resign  his  com- 
mission in  the  nav}-  until  two  }ears  after  his  appoint- 
ment as  director  of  the  Free  School  of  Music,  and  it 
must  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  Moussorgsky  that, 
although  he  frequently  experienced  the  pinch  of 
povertN',  it  never  occurred  to  him  to  compromise  with 
the  Dublic  by  resorting  to  the  "  pot-boiler."  Instead, 
he  sought  an  administrative  appointment  which  en- 
abled him  to  maintain  the  level  of  his  artistic  ideal. 

Owing  to  a  curious  blindness  to  the  benefit  of  such 
a  circumstance,  or  perhaps  to  the  prejudice  naturally 
felt  by  more  conservative  musicians  against  the  inno- 
vations of  the  "  five,"  accusations  of  amateurishness 
have  been  urged  against  them.  The  difference  in  this 
matter  between  the  attitudes  of  Liszt  and  Tchaikov- 
sky is  particularly  remarkable.  Borodin,  during  his 
pilgrimage  to  Weimar  in  1877,  ^'^^^  occasion  to  refer 
modestl}-  to  himself  as  a  "Sunday  musician,"  which 
remark  called  forth  an  immediate  and  cordial  reassur- 
ance from  the  great  virtuoso  to  the  effect  that  Sunday 
was  a  feast-day  and  that  Borodin  was  well  qualified 
to  officiate!*  Tchaikovsky,  on  the  other  hand,  writing 
to    Mme.    von    Meek    in     1878,    commits    himself    to 


IJALAKIREFF   AS    TEACHER.  65 

some  exceedingly  faint  praise  m  reference  to  Rimsky- 
Korsakoff  and  even  to  Balakireff  from  whom,  as  it  will 
be  seen  later,  he  had  received  some  particularly  inspir- 
ing suggestions,  and  he  indulges  in  a  quite  emphatic 
depreciation  of  Moussorgsky  and  Cui.  His  generalisa- 
tion is  well  worthy  of  quotation  :  "  The  young  Peters- 
burg composers  are  very  gifted,  but  they  are  all  im- 
pregnated with  the  most  horrible  presumptuousness 
and  a  purely  amateur  conviction  of  their  superiority  to 
all  other  musicians  in  the  universe." 

In  reality  there  was  at  this  time  very  little  of  the 
amateur  m  point  of  technique  about  any  of  the  group, 
excepting  Moussorgsky.  Balakireff  was,  of  course,  a 
thorough  musician  whose  erudition  had  failed  to 
render  him  an  academic.  Cui  had  already  established 
a  reputation  as  an  operatic  composer ;  the  technical 
resource  displayed  by  Borodin  in  his  symphony  had 
surprised  his  friends,  and  Rimsky-Korsakoff  had 
already  emerged  from  the  period  of  theoretical  study 
which  a  realisation  of  his  limitations  in  this  respect 
had  prompted  him  to  undergo. 

Balakireff,  besides  being  the  initiator  of  the  circle, 
was  also  its  leader.  Under  his  guidance  his  com- 
panions made  first  a  thorough  study  of  the  classics, 
and  then  the  works  of  contemporary  masters  were  sub- 
jected to  a  close  examination,  with  a  view  not  only  to 
a  complete  artistic  grounding,  but  to  a  discovery  of 
the  direction  in  which  tradition  could  be  considered  as 
at  fault.  The  watchword  of  the  circle  was  individual 
liberty. 

As  might  be  anticipated,  these  pioneers  began  little 
by  little  to  realise  that  there  must  be  a  considerable 
divergence  between  their  aims  if  individuality  was  to 


66  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

be  preserved,  and  as  each  began,  as  it  were,  to  find  his 
feet,  a  gradual  differentiation  of  method  was  noticed 
in  their  work.  Borodin,  in  a  letter  dated  1875,  put 
the  case  very  clearly,  and  employing  an  exceedingly 
apt  metaphor  characterises  Balakireff  as  the  hen  and 
his  disciples  as  eggs  "which  were  all  alike,"  but  from 
wdiich  sprang  chickens  that,  differing  somewhat  at 
first,  ceased  after  a  time  to  resemble  one  another  at  all. 
But  m  spite  of  the  comparative  disruption  consequent 
upon  individual  development,  the  circle  continued  its 
exchange  of  ideas  through  the  medium  of  its  output, 
and  the  mutual  respect  of  its  members  was  never  for 
a  moment  endangered. 

Mily  Alexeievich  Balakireff  was  born  at  Nijni-Nov- 
gorod  on  January  2,  1837.  His  mother  gave  him  a 
rudimentary  musical  education  during  his  early  youth, 
but  he  did  not  begin  to  study  at  all  seriously  until 
after  he  had  taken  a  degree  at  the  university  of  Kazan. 
At  this  time  he  came  in  contact  with  Oulibisheff,  who 
invited  the  youth  to  his  country  mansion  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Novgorod,  and  gave  him  the  run  of  an  excep- 
tionally fine  literary  and  musical  library.  .  By  means 
of  his  host's  private  band  he  made  acquaintance  with 
the  principles  of  orchestration,  and  in  the  surrounding 
country  he  discovered  a  fund  of  folk-song  which  was 
destined  to  become  the  nucleus  of  a  very  fine  collec- 
tion. Balakireff  was  thus  enabled  to  satisfy,  at  one 
and  the  same  time,  his  passion  for  musical  erudition, 
his  desire  for  technical  ability  and  knowledge  and  his 
love  for  the  music  of  the  people. 

In  185s  he  went  to  live  in  St.  Petersburg,  which  city 
he  found  under  the  sway  of  the  music  of  Meyerbeer 
and  Bellini,  and  he  set  himself  at  once  to  combat  this 


NATIONALISM   NOT   CHAUVINISM.  6/ 

influence,  and,  with  all  the  energy  at  his  command,  to 
advance  the  cause  of  musical  nationalism.  It  was 
then  that  Oulibisheff,  recognising  Balakireff's  true 
metier,  introduced  him  to  Glinka,  and  thus  laid  the 
foundation  stone  of  the  glorious  edi&ce  whose  dome 
was  very  soon  to  be  visible  from  all  parts  of  Europe. 

During  this  period  his  activity  as  a  composer  began. 
His  first  work  was  a  fantasia  on  three  Russian  themes 
for  piano  and  orchestra  (1857),  which  was  afterwards 
recast  as  an  orchestral  overture,  his  next  a  fantasia  on 
the  "  trio  "  from  the  first  act  of  "  A  Life  for  the  Czar," 
for  piano.  Many  of  his  best  songs  date  from  this 
period.  One  of  these  early  works  affords  signal  proof 
of  the  liberality  of  his  nationalistic  outlook.  The 
composition  of  an  overture  on  a  Spanish  theme  given 
him  by  Glinka,  who  had,  of  course,  already  realised 
the  potential  importance  of  the  folk-melodies  of 
Spain,  shows  that  Balakireff  did  not  confine  the  pro- 
pagation of  his  patriotic  ideal  to  his  own  country. 
Patriotism  as  an  ideal  must  of  necessity  lose  every 
shred  of  its  ethical  foundation  unless  the  toleration 
of  a  similar  spirit  in  foreign  peoples  forms  part  and 
parcel  of  the  sentiment,  and  Balakireff's  recognition 
of  the  claims  of  others  appears  to  have  been  voiced 
by  this  hetero-national  essay  to  which  ten  years  later 
he  added  as  companion  the  overture  on  Czechish 
themes. 

In  1 86 1  his  plans  were  well  on  the  way  towards 
fruition,  and  he  found  time  to  create  one  of  his  best 
works — the  music  to  "  King  Lear " — which  is  his 
single  incursion  into  the  dramatic  region.  Seven  years 
later,  when  making  suggestions  to  Tchaikovsky,  who 
was    in    thematic    difficulties    with    his    "  Romeo    and 


68  A    bHORT   HISTORY    OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

Juliet"  overture,  he  gave  full  details  as  to  the  modus 
operandi  employed  in   the  construction   of   this   work. 
It  was  in   1862,  however,  that  he  was  able  to  launch 
the  institution  which  has  had  so  immense  an  influence 
upon  the  progress  of  music  in  Russia.     Together  with 
Lomakin,  who  had  been  the  teacher  of  Tchaikovsky  at 
the  School  of  Jurisprudence,  and  Stassoif,  one  of  its 
earlier  ahimni,  he  succeeded  in  starting  the  St.  Peters- 
burg Free  vSchool  of  Music,  in  connection  with  which 
he  organised    and   conducted   a   series   of    progressive 
concerts.     By  means  of  these  concerts  he  was  enabled 
to  reach  the  poorer  section  of  the  public,  who  had  been 
denied   the  privilege  of   listening   to   orchestral   music 
owing   to   the  prohibitive   prices   of   admission   to   the 
more   fashionable   and   conservative   Imperial   Musical 
Society,  and  also  to  offer  opportunities  of   a  hearing 
of  the  works  of  budding  composers.     Thus  were  pro- 
duced several  of  the  works  of  Borodin,  Cui,  Moussorg- 
sky,   Glazounoff    and   Liadoff.     In   this   year   he   com- 
posed    the     symphonic     poem,     "  Russia,"     a     work 
commemorating  the  thousandth  anniversary  of  the  in- 
auguration of  the  Russian  empire  by  Rurik. 

During. the  winter  of  1866-7  he  made  a  journey  to 
Prague,  where  he  produced  Glinka's  operas,  and  from 
whence  he  obtained  the  material  for  his  "  Bohemian  " 
symphonic  poem.  He  published  at  this  time  his  col- 
lection of  popular  Russian  songs,  which  contains  the 
germ  of  many  a  Russian  masterpiece.  He  also  made 
the  first  sketches  of  the  symphonic  poem,  "  Tamara." 
In  the  letter  to  Tchaikovsky,  already  quoted  in  refer- 
ence to  "  King  Lear,"  he  gives  a  very  precise  idea  as 
to  the  manner  in  which  he  was  affected  by  the  creative 
impulse.     "If,"  he  says,  "these  lines  have  a  good  effect 


"  TAMARA."  69 

upon  }ou,  I  shall  be  very  pleased.  I  have  a  certain 
right  to  hope  for  this,  because  your  letters  do  me  good. 
Your  last,  for  instance,  made  me  so  unusually  light- 
hearted  that  I  rushed  out  into  the  Nevsky  Prospect; 
1  did  not  walk,  I  danced  along,  and  composed  part 
of  my  *  Tamara '  as  I  went." 

"Tamara"  was  destined  to  be  regarded  as  one  of 
his  greatest  works.  Together  with  "  Islamey,"  the 
piano  fantasia  which  was  one  of  the  most  cherished 
works  ni  the  repertory  of  Liszt,  it  reflects  the  com- 
poser's passion  for  the  oriental  and  his  intimacy  with 
the  melodic  and  harmonic  idiom  of  the  East.  It  is 
based  upon  the  poem  of  Lermontoff  which  tells  the 
story  of  a  Georgian  princess  who  lived  in  a  castle  by 
the  river  Terek,  and  whose  custom  it  was  to  attract 
strangers  by  means  of  the  festivities  she  never  ceased 
to  hold.  The  stranger  was  invited  to  join  her  in  the 
dance,  which  became  more  and  more  animated,  and  at 
the  moment  of  supreme  exhilaration,  he  was  stabbed 
by  Tamara,  and  his  corpse  was  pitched  into  the  angry 
waters  of  the  river.  The  gorgeous  harmonic  colour- 
ing of  this  work  is  the  outcome  of  a  tour  of  the  Cau- 
casus, undertaken  prior  to  Balakireff's  settlement  in 
St.  Petersburg. 

In  1869,  Balakireff  was  appointed  conductor  of  the 
Imperial  Musical  Society,  and  one  of  the  earliest 
works  performed  under  his  baton  was  the  "  Fatum  "  of 
Tchaikovsky,  which  was  afterwards  destroyed  by  the 
composer.  "Fatum"  was  dedicated  to  Balakireff,  but 
the  latter  was  not  at  all  pleased  with  it.  After  the 
performance  he  wrote  to  the  composer,  and  after 
certain  critical  observations,  expressed  some  doubts  in 
reference  to  Tchaikovsky's   attitude  towards  modern- 


;o  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

isiii,  and,  between  the  Inies,  gave  some  pretty  deiinilc 
indications  as  to  his  own.  "  .  .  .  .  you  are  too  little 
acquainted  with  modern  music.     You  will  never  learn 

freedom  of  form   from  the  classical  composers 

They  can  only  give  you  what  )'ou  knew  already  when 
you  sat  on  the  students'  benches  .  .  .  ."  To  the  credit 
of  Tchaikovsky  be  it  said  that  the  criticism  was  not 
allowed  to  undermine  the  friendship  that  existed  be- 
tween the  two  masters,  and  he  shows  quite  plainly  in 
a  letter  of  that  period  that  if  he  felt  that  Balakireff's 
remarks  were  unduly  harsh,  he  could  accept  them  in 
the  proper  spirit.  In  this  epistle  is  recorded  the  fact 
tlrit  Tchaikovsky  entertained  Balakircff  and  Borodin 
at  a  party  together  with  other  musicians  and  I'lti.cra- 
tciirs.  In  this  year  Balakireff  began  the  actual  com- 
position of  '*  Tamara,"  and  he  also  revised  and  pub- 
lished the  Spanish  overture  written  m  uS^/. 

In  1873  ^^^  redrcd  from  the  directorship  of  the  Free 
School,  and  this  post  was  taken  over  b\'  Rimsky-Kcr- 
sakoff.  From  this  time  until  his  death  he  lived  a  more 
or  less  retired  life  and  passed  through  several  periods 
of  comparative  inactivity,  induced,  it  is  said,  by  a  re- 
ligious and  mystic  frame  of  mind. 

From  time  to  time,  however,  he  awoke  from  this 
torpor  and  showed  that  he  had  renounced  neither  com- 
position nor  his  interest  in  the  work  of  others.  Boro- 
din, when  writing  to  his  friend,  Mmc.  Karmalina 
(Glinka's  niece)  made  a  reference  to  these  periodic  dis- 
appearances. In  Januar)\  1877,  he  WTote  :  '*  Here  is  a 
very  pleasant  and  gratifying  piece  of  news  of  which 
you  doubtless  are  ignorant.  Balakireff,  the  amiable 
Balakireff,  has  come  to  life  again  as  regards  music. 
He  has  always  been  the  same  Mily  Alcxeievich,  ardent 


BALAKIREFF    "RESUSCITATED."  yi 

defender  of  the  sharps  and  flats  and  all  the  minutest 
details  of  some  composition  which  formerly  he  would 
not  hear  mentioned.  Now  he  besieges  Korsakoff  once 
more  with  his  letters  about  the  Free  School,  takes  the 
liveliest  interest  m  the  composition  of  concert  pro- 
grammes, works  at  his  '  Tamara,'  and  is  finishing  an 
arrangement,  for  four  hands,  of  Berlioz's  '  Harold  ni 
Italy.'  ....  In  short,  he  is  resuscitated." 

Again  m  1880,  writing  to  Stassoff  to  inform  him  of 
the  success  of  his  first  symphony,  he  mentions  that 
when  he  sent  the  same  intelligence  to  Balakireff  .... 

"  he  came  at  once,  radiant,  to  congratulate  me 

It  was  nine  )ears  since  Balakireff  had  set  foot  inside 
my  house.  But  his  manner  was  just  the  same  as  if  he 
had  only  left  us  the  day  before.  .  .  .  The  next  day  he 
reappeared,  gay  and  radiant  ....  he  played  the 
piano,  chatted,  discussed,  gesticulated  with  the  greatest 
animation Naturally  he  let  us  hear  '  Tamara.' " 

He  finished  "Tamara"  in  1882,  and  a  year  later  it 
received  its  hrst  performance.  In  1884  he  dedicated 
the  work  to  Liszt.  During  1883  he  accepted  the  post 
of  director  of  the  Imperial  Chapel,  and  there  intro- 
duced some  searching  and  necessary  reforms. 

A  strange  recrudescence  of  activity  in  the  direction 
of  composition  manifested  itself  towards  the  close  of 
his  life,  when  he  published  a  second  symphony  in  D 
minor — the  first,  in  C,  composed  in  1897-8,  was  played 
at  Queen's  Hall  in  1899 — and  a  piano  concerto,  his 
last  work,  which,  although  it  has  on  one  occasion  been 
announced,  has  yet  to  be  performed  in  England. 

Its  best  exponent,  Liapounoff,  was  engaged  with  his 
master  m  one  of  his  last  labours — the  revision  of  the 


72  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC, 

complete  works  of  Glinka.  Balakireff  died  in  May, 
19 10,  at  St.  Petersburg. 

Apart  from  the  works  already  mentioned,  he  com- 
posed a  large  number  of  pieces  for  the  piano  and 
made  many  arrangements  of  the  works  of  other  com- 
posers, such  as  Glinka,  Berlioz,  Chopin  and  Liszt.  He 
also  orchestrated  four  pieces  of  Chopin  :  preambule, 
mazurka,  intermezzo  and  scherzo,  which  he  published 
in  the  form  of  a  suite,  and  arranged  the  seventh 
mazurka  for  strings.  His  songs  comprise  two  sets  of 
twenty  Heeler,  a  set  of  ten  songs  and  two  series  of 
ten  "  romances.*'  There  are  five  works  for  voice  with 
orchestral  accompaniment,  and  a  cantata  for  soprano 
solo,  chorus  and  orchestra,  composed  for  the  un- 
veiling of  Glinka's  monument  at  St.  Petersburg  in 
1906. 

Regarding  his  songs,  Tchaikovsky  signalised  his 
agreement  with  Mme.  von  Meek,  in  that  "  they  are  actu- 
ally little  masterpieces,  and  I  am  passionately  fond 
of  some  of  them.  There  was  a  time  when  I  could 
not  listen  to  '  Selim's  Song  ''■  without  tears  in  my  eyes, 
and  now  I  rank  'The  Song  of  the  Golden  Fish'  very 
highly." 

An  early  panegyric  from  the  pen  of  Cesar  Cui  gives 
a  more  general  view  as  to  the  value  of  Balakireff's 
musical  personality:  "A  musician  of  the  first  rank, 
an  inexorable  critic  of  his  own  works,  thoroughly 
familiar  with  all  music,  ancient  as  well  as  modern, 
Balakireff  is  above  all  a  symphonist." 

As  for  Borodin,  he  can  find  no  better  terms  in  which 

*  To  the  text  of  Lermoiitoff. 


A  "MUSICIAN-MAKER."  73 

to  express  his  tremendous  admiration   for  Liszt,  than 
to  describe  him  as  "  a  real  Balakircff."'^" 

But  surel)'  there  could  be  no  more  httnig  eulogy  of 
this  "musician-maker,"  and  none  more  to  his  own  taste, 
than  a  record  of  the  fact  that  he  never  betrayed  the 
mission  entrusted  to  him  by  Glinka,  an  inheritance 
which,  prompted  by  his  passionate  belief  in  its  sacro- 
sanctity,  he  guarded  and  cared  for  so  faithfully. 


*  This   comparison   may   be   presumed   to   have   embraced    a 
reference  to  Balakireff's  exceptional  powers  as  pianist. 


II. 

CESAR  CUI. 

NO  rWlTHSTANDING  the  fact  that  he  helped  to 
found  the  association,  the  position  of  Cui, 
among  the  "  hvc  " — as  composer,  at  least — is  distinctly 
peculiar.  There  is  something  rather  more  than  merely 
suggestive  of  the  paradoxical  in  the  footing  of  one 
who  advocated  nationalism  with  such  intense  convic- 
tion and  whose  work  as  composer  was  nevertheless 
little  short  of  a  complete  negation  of  his  literary  efforts 
on  behalf  of  the  cause. 

As  organiser  and  agitator,  Cui's  labours  were  of 
immense  value  in  contributing  to  the  indoctrination  of 
the  nationalistic  idea,  not  only  in  Russia,  but  in 
western  Europe.  But  as  a  composer  his  claim  to  con- 
sideration is  exceedingly  slight  in  comparison  with 
that  of  his  colleagues.  In  one  of  his  operas,  "  Angelo," 
he  approached  in  one  particular  the  constructional 
pattern  accepted  by  the  group,  in  that  he  disregarded 
formalistic     traditions     and     adopted     m     a     certain 


GUI   AS   CRITIC   AND   COMPOSER.  ;5 

iiicasui'c  the  "  iiielodic  rccitaLiNC,"  but  even  in  this  work, 
in  the  planning  of  which  he  seems  to  have  been  nitcnt 
on  complymg  with  the  accepted  canons,  his  chosen 
dramatic  subject  was  foreign  and  not  Russian,  and  it 
is  not  possible  to  urge  on  his  behalf,  as  on  that  of  Dar- 
gomijsky  (in  "The  Stone  Guest"),  that  the  text  eman- 
ated frcm  a  compatriot.  Further  it  must  be  pointed 
cut  that  the  employment  of  foreign  subject  matter 
precluded  the  introduction  of  national   folk-tunes. 

As  to  the  musical  value  of  Cui's  compositions,  one 
imagines  that  although  in  his  case  it  was  probably  un- 
conscious, he  must  have  emulated  the  intention  ex- 
pressed by  Seroff  in  regard  to  one  of  his  own  works, 
that  of  seeking  a  compromise  betwixt  his  own  ideals 
and  contemporary  musical  taste — a  method  presenting 
little  difficulty  to  one  who,  as  critic,  is  given  constant 
opportunities  cf  examining  public  taste. 

In  his  capacity  of  critic  and  literary  propagandist, 
his  services  to  the  brotherhood  were  exceedingly  \'alu- 
able,  howbeit  the  trenchancy  of  his  style  was  the  means 
of  intensifying  the  quite  natural  odium  evinced  by 
academic  opposition  to  the  allied  innovators. 

Cesar  Antoncvich  Cui  was  born  at  Vilna,  which  is 
near  to  the  north-eastern  boundary  of  Poland,  on 
January  1 8,  1835.  His  father  was  a  Frenchman,  who 
came  to  Russia  in  181 2  with  Napoleon's  army,  was 
severely  wounded  at  Smolensk  and  was  thus  prevented 
from  taking  part  m  the  disastrous  retreat.  Fie  decided 
to  establish  himself  in  Russia,  .and  being  a  man  of 
scholastic  attainments,  he  found  a  billet  as  private 
tutor,  which  led  to  his  engagement  as  teacher  of  French 
at  the  \Tlna  High  School.  Fie  was  quite  a  good 
musician  and  composed  songs  of  a  certain  merit.     Re- 


76  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   Rt'SSlAX   MUSIC. 

domiciled,  he  took  to  himself  a  wife  in  the  person 
of  Julie  Gucewicz,  who  belonged  to  a  small  land- 
owning family  in  Lithuania.  She  was  a  woman  of 
particularly  sweet  character,  and  subsequently  proved 
a  devoted  mother  to  the  five  children,  of  whom  Cesar 
Antonovich  was  the  youngest. 

The  bo)'  had  his  first  lessons  m  music  from  two 
local  teachers,  named  respectively  Hermann  and  Dio. 
The  latter,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  better,  taught 
him  the  violin.  Young  Cui  also  received  some  assist- 
ance from  his  sister,  with  whom  he  used  to  play  duets. 
This  instruction  was  interrupted  in  1845,  when  he  was 
sent  to  the  Vilna  High  School,  the  institution  in  which 
his  father  taught.  He  had  already  shown  a  taste  for 
literature,  and  had  become  familiar  with  the  works  of 
Dumas,  Sue  and  Hugo.  At  school,  however,  he  did 
not  succeed  in  making  any  particular  mark,  and  it  is 
recorded  that  he  found  great  difficulty  in  mastering 
the  German  language. 

In  1849,  during  the  holidays,  he  was  introduced  by 
his  violin  master,  Dio,  to  ]\loniuszko,  the  Polish  com- 
poser (1820-72),  whose  opera,  "  Halka,"  had  three  years 
previously  been  produced  with  success  at  \\^arsaw,  and 
who  lived  at  this  time  in  Vilna,  where  he  was  occupied 
as  church  organist.  The  lessons  lasted  for  about  six 
months,  at  the  end  of  which,  Cui,  who  was  to  embrace 
a  military  career,  entered  the  St.  Petersburg  School  of 
Military  Engineering.  He  distinguished  himself  dur- 
ing his  seven  years'  course  of  study  (1850-7)  in  such 
degree  as  to  secure  a  sub-professorship  in  the  School, 
and  subsequently  became  an  authority  on  fortifica- 
tion, wrote  manuals  on  the  subject,  gave  lectures  at 
the  staff  college  and  at  the  School  of  Artillery,  and 


CUI   MEETS   BALAKIREFF.  JJ 

finally  attained  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general.  He 
had  several  pupils  of  distinction,  including  the  present 
Czar  and  General  Skobeleff,  whose  name  will  be  re- 
membered in  connection  with  the  Russo-Turkish  War. 

His  devotion  to  his  profession  did  not  by  any  means 
monopolise  his  attention,  and  during  the  period  of  his 
military  studentship,  he  found  sufficient  leis^^ire  to 
occupy  himself  with  music  and  to  conceive  some  very 
strong  views  as  to  the  misguided  attitude  of  the  aris- 
tocracy towards  the  art.  This  secondary  vocation 
was,  we  are  told,  for  a  long  time  a  bone  of  contention 
with  his  military  instructors. 

In  1856,  quite  by  chance,  he  was  introduced  to  Bala- 
kireff  at  a  "  quartet  evening  "  and  thus  was  inaugurated 
a  long  and  auspicious  friendship.  In  1857  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  an  alliance  of  equal  importance,  but  of 
a  different  nature.  He  became  engaged  to  be  married. 
The  lady  of  his  choice,  Bamberg  by  name,  was  a  pupil 
of  Dargomijsky.  About  this  time,  probably  as  a 
corollary  of  awakened  affection,  he  began  to  compose, 
and  from  this  period  date  his  two  symphonic  scherzos; 
the  first.  Op.  i,  had  a  musical  basis  in  the  letters 
B.A.B.E.G.  from  his  wife's  name,  and  his  own  initials, 
C.  C. ;  the  second,  Op.  2,  was  labelled  "a  la  Schumann." 
The  first  was  performed  two  years  later  under  the 
direction  of  Rubinstein. 

Soon  after  their  marriage  the  couple  found  their 
resources  unequal  to  the  maintenance  of  a. comfortable 
home,  and  they  decided  to  open  a  preparatory  school 
of  engineering.  This  undertaking  proved  successful 
and  did  not  unduly  interfere  with  his  musical 
activities. 

In  1859  he  composed  his  first  dramatic  work,  a  comic 


78  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Operetta,  "  The  Mandarin's  Son."  It  shows  no  signs 
of  originaHty  whatever,  is  essentially  French  in  manner 
and  as  to  matter  bears  a  faithful  resemblance  to  the 
style  of  Auber.  It  was  intended  for  private  perform- 
ance and  was  not  put  forward  as  a  serious  work;  the 
principal  role  was  undertaken  by  his  wife  and  the 
accompaniment  was  rendered  at  the  piano. 

In  this  year  he  brought  to  completion  an  opera 
which  had  been  planned  in  1857.  It  was  founded 
upon  an  early  poem  of  Pushkin,  entitled  "The  Pris- 
oner of  the  Caucasus."  This  opera  offers  an  oppor- 
tunity of  noting  the  st)distic  progress  of  the  composer, 
for,  twenty  years  later,  when  Cui  desired  to  see  it  pro- 
duced, he  was  obliged  to  add  a  third  act  to  the  exist- 
ing two  in  order  to  comply  with  the  condition,  then 
prevailing,  that  no  opera  of  less  than  three  acts  could 
be.  admitted  to  the  repertoire  of  the  Imperial  Russian 
Opera.*  In  the  direction  of  form,  "The  Prisoner  of 
the  Caucasus,"  with  the  exception  of  its  interpolated 
second  act,  is  conventional  and  is  an  echo  of  the  period 
of  its  composition.  It  contains,  however,  some  note- 
worthy features  in  the  shape  cf  an  attention  to  legi- 
timacy, some  attempt  at  characterisation  and  a  certain 
felicity  m  the  introduction  of  local  colour. 

It  was  not  until  1861,  when  his  third  operatic  ven- 
ture was  begun,  that  Cui  succeeded  in  creating  a  work 
which  was  to  attract  a  favourable  attention.  For  the 
literary  basis  of  this  work,  "  William  Ratcliff,"  he  went 
to   Heine's   tragedy.     In   this   step,   oddly   enough,   he 


*  This    regulation    had    no   rational    foundation    and    was    a 
sovere  obstacle  to  the  rising  operatic  compo.ser. 


TCHAIKOVSKY   AND    "WILLIAM    KATCLIFF."  79 

was  counselled  by  Balakircff.  He  retained,  as  far  as 
possible,  its  original  form,  but  added  some  choruses. 
Although  "William  Ratcliff,"  the  music  of  which  is 
spoken  of  as  being  somewhat  "  tainted  by  Schumann- 
isms,"  was  not  by  any  means  a  complete  severance 
from  operatic  tradition,  it  is  a  work  of  considerable 
interest  from  the  historical  point  of  view,  because  in 
it  was  made  the  first  attempt  to  embody,  and  thus  to 
promulgate,  the  structural  operatic  reforms  drawn  up 
by  the  "  Five."  Tchaikovsky  sums  up  the  position  in 
which  Cui  was  placed  by  this  obligation  to  the  ac- 
cepted creed.  "  Cui,"  he  says,  "  is  by  nature  more 
drawn  towards  light  and  piquantly  rhythmic  French 
music,  but  the  demands  of  the  '  band '  .  .  .  .  compel 
him  to  do  violence  to  his  natural  gifts  and  to  follow 
those  paths  of  would-be  original  harmony  which  do 
not  suit  him." 

Tchaikovsky  further  states  that  the  composition  of 
this  opera  took  ten  years,  but  this  was  not  in  accord- 
ance with  fact.  "William  Ratcliff"  was  completed  in 
1869.  It  was  performed  in  that  year  at  the  Imperial 
Theatre,  St.  Petersburg,  and  met  with  a  rather  cold 
reception.* 

In  1864. Cui  entered  the  held  of  newspaper  criticism, 
a  region  in  which,  as  has  been  said,  he  has  laboured 
prodigiously  on  behalf  of  the  musical  art.  From  the 
begining   he    spared    no    effort    in    his    endeavours    to 


*  The  critics  appear  to  have  considered  Cui's  effort  to  break 
away  from  operatic  tradition  a.s  somewhat  in.snfficient  ;  they 
complained  that  '"William  Ratcliff."  viewed  as  a  specimen  of 
conformity  to  Cui's  stated  principles,  wa.s  more  or  less  un- 
satisfying. 


8o  A    SHORT   HISTORY    OF    RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

suppress  the  Italian  operatic  vogue  and  to  elevate 
Russian  opera  to  a  state  of  favour.  Whether  com- 
bating the  influence  of  effete  academicism  or  defend- 
ing the  claims  of  the  cherished  nationalistic  ideal,  his 
satiric  style  and  causticity  of  manner  combined  in 
enabling  him  to  hold  his  own,  but  a  perusal  of  his 
critical  work  discloses  the  fact  that,  on  occasion,  he 
used  the  bludgeon  when  clearly  under  the  impression 
that  he  was  wielding  the  rapier.  Pen  in  hand, beseems 
to  have  been  remarkably  biassed  and  to  have  found 
exceeding  difficulty  in  forgiving  those  who  had  the 
temerity  to  express  an  opinion  contrary  to  his.  But 
there  is  no  doubt  that,  despite  the  obstacles  he  him- 
self raised,  he  was  instrumental  in  furthering  the  pro- 
gress of  music  in  Russia  in  a  considerable  degree,  and 
in  drawing  attention  to  the  deserving  w^orks  of  con- 
temporary composers — Russian  and  other.  His  ar- 
ticles appeared  in  a  variety  of  Russian  journals,  and 
he  also  contributed  to  some  French  musical  papers. 

In  1 8/ 1,  Cui  began  his  most  important  opera, 
"  Angelo."  The  subject,  that  of  Victor  Hugo's  play  of 
the  same  name,  has  much  in  common  with  that  of  Pon- 
chielli's  "  Gioconda,"  which  was  produced  in  the  same 
year.  "Angelo,"  which  has  four  acts,  seems  to  have 
occupied  most  of  Cui's  time  until  the  date  of  its  per- 
formance in  1876.  The  work  differs  from  "Ratcliff" 
in  nature  as  in  quality.  There  is  less  symphonic  de- 
velopment and  a  greater  dexterity  in  adjusting  the 
vocal  parts  to  their  text.  It  contains  a  remarkable 
fund  of  melody,  and  is  now  generally  regarded  as 
the  composer's  most  solid  work;  but  it  has  enjoyed 
very  little  popularity.  The  first  act  was  seen  and 
played   over,   two   years   prior   to   its   production,   by 


A   DISCERNING    PATRONESS.  8 1 

Tcliaiko\sky,  who  subsequently  gave  his  opinion  tliat 
it  was  inferior  in  substance  to  "William  Ratcliff." 

For  quite  a  long  thiie  after  the  production  of 
"  Angclo,"  Cui  forsook  opera  and,  confining  his  output 
to  the  smaller  forms,  composed  a  large  number  of 
songs  and  vocal  music  generally,  and  a  goodly  quan- 
tity of  little  pieces  for  piano  and  for  violin. 

In  1 88 1  he  returned  to  the  theatre  in  order,  as  already 
mentioned,  to  provide  the  additional  act  to  "  The  Pris- 
oner of  the  Caucasus,"  but  this  did  not  lead  to  an 
awakening  of  creative  desires  in  the  operatic  direction, 
probably  because  the  modified  work  had  not  yet  been 
performed.  In  this  year,  however,  he  wrote  one  of  his 
few^  orchestral  works,  the  "Solemn  March,"  Op.  i8. 

An  incident  which  occurred  in  the  following  year 
led  in  quite  a  fortuitous  way  to  the  formation  of  one 
of  those  acquaintanceships  which,  now  and  again,  are 
to  be  credited  to  the  good  management  of  the  Fates. 
The  Countess  Mercy-Argenteau — an  enthusiastic  music- 
lover,  w'ho  lived  in  Belgium — received  from  a  friend 
of  hers  a  copy  of  some  dances  by  Napravnik,  who  was 
at  that  time  the  conductor  of  the  Imperial  Theatre  in 
St.  Petersburg,  and  being  interested  by  them,  asked 
her  friend  to  write  to  Xapravnik  for  information  as 
to  his  own  works  and  also  as  to  those  of  any  other 
Russian*  composers  of  importance.  Napravnik,  a 
musician  of  academic  sympathies,  sent  her  all  the  re- 
quired particulars  in  regard  to  himself,  and  replied 
to  the  second  query  in  a  statement  that,  beyond 
Tchaikovsky,  he  knew  of  no  Russian  composers  of  out- 


Xapraviiik  was  oiiK*  Russian  by  adoption. 

7 


82  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

standing  merit.  The  Countess,  after  an  examination 
of  the  works  received,  formed  the  opinion  that  Naprav- 
nik's  compositions  should  be  placed  in  the  category  of 
"conductor's  music,"  and  those  of  Tchaikovsky,  in  her 
own  phrase,  left  her  "cold."  In  the  following  year 
her  friend  sent  her  a  work  of  Borodin  and  a  piano 
polka  of  Cui.  Finding  the  latter  entirely  to  her  taste, 
she  wrote  to  the  composer  and  received  in  reply  his 
pamphlet,  "  Alusic  in  Russia."  This,  as  may  be  sup- 
posed, did  not  neglect  to  give  a  full  chronicle  of  the 
doings  of  the  "  Five,"  and  the  Countess  lost  no  time, 
once  she  had  perused  the  book,  in  procuring  all  the 
available  works  of  the  "  band."  To  her  enthusiasm  is 
really  due  the  early  knowledge  and  esteem  of  the 
modern  Russian  school  in  Belgium. 

The  result  of  all  this  was,  that  in  1885,  largely 
through  her  intervention,  Cui  was  nivited  to  super- 
intend the  production  of  "  The  Prisoner  of  the  Cau- 
casus "  at  Liege.  This  took  place  in  the  first  days  of 
1886.  The  opera  was  received  with  the  greatest  en- 
thusiasm, and  Cui  scored  a  further  success  in  Brussels, 
where  an  orchestral  suite  of  his  was  performed. 

By  means  of  his  Pianoforte  Suite,  Op.  40  (1887), 
w'hich  he  named  "  a  Argenteau,"  Cui  paid  a  tribute  to 
the  Countess.  One  of  the  pieces  is  entitled  "  The 
Cedar,"  after  a  giant  tree  which  grew  on  her  estate, 
and  another  he  called  "  The  Rock,"  which  was  also  a 
landmark  at  Argenteau. 

The  success  of  "  The  Prisoner  of  the  Caucasus " 
turned  Cui's  thoughts  once  more  towards  opera.  "  The 
Saracen,"  in  four  acts,  derived  from  Dumas's  histori- 
cal novel,  was  produced  at  St.  Petersburg  in  1889,  and 
m   the   same  year   he  composed    "  The  Filibuster,"   of 


SONGS   TO  RUSSIAN   TEXTS.  83 

which  the  libretto  weis  drawn  from  a  play  by  Richc- 
pin,  a  poet  for  whose  texts  Cui  has  shown  a  decided 
liking  when  engaged  in  song-writing.  In  the  succeed- 
ing year  he  set  twenty  poems  of  Richcpin  to  music. 
"The  Filibuster"  was  produced  at  the  Opcra-Comique 
(Paris)  in  1894,  with  no  great  success;  "The  Saracen" 
was  revived  in  Moscow  in   1902. 

Two  more  works  have  been  added  to  the  list  of 
Cui's  dramatic  compositions  :  "  The  Feast  m  Plague- 
time,"  after  Pushkin,  a  dramatic  sccna  in  one  act,  w^iich 
appeared  in  1900,  and  a  setting  of  Maupassant's  story, 
"  AFselle  Fifi.,"  which  was  performed  at  Moscow  in 
November,  1903.  At  a  comparatively  late  age  Cui  re- 
turned to  Russian  texts,  which,  as  a  source  of  inspira- 
tion, had  been  ignored  since  1886,  when  he  had  issued  a 
set  of  seven  songs  by  Pushkin  and  Lermontoff.  In  1899 
he  published  settings  of  twenty-five  poems  by  the  former 
and  in  1902,  in  addition  to  seven  vocal  quartets,  he 
composed  twenty-one  songs  to  the  words  of  Nekrassoff. 

Cui's  services  to  Russian  music,  rendered  through  the 
medium  of  literature,  will  probably  be  overlooked,  or 
at  least,  under-estimated,  m  time  to  come,  because  an 
adequate  appreciation  of  their  value  is  only  properly 
to  be  gained  by  those  who  can  look  back  to  the  time 
when  the  war  on  behalf  of  nationalism  and  progress 
against  Italian  and  German  influence  and  academicism 
was  actually  being  waged. 

Conservative  opposition  to  the  liberalism  of  the 
group,  was  naturally  very  strong.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  also  that  the  ideal  of  nationalism,  as  expressed 
by  the  "Five,"  was  the  object  of  scorn  and  derision, 
not  only  because  the  academic  party,  the  followers  of 
the  two  Rubinsteins  and  Tchaikovsky,  considered  them- 


84  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF    RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

sehcs  or  their  output  quite  sufficiently  Russian,  but 
because  of  the  circumstances  attending  the  beginnings 
of  the  group — that  the  allied  pioneers  were  "  amateurs  " 
and  that  their  knowledge  was  of  a  kind  which  might 
be  called  empirical.  Cui's  party,  on  the  other  hand, 
regarded  the  music  of  their  opponents  as  inimical  to 
the  interests  of  nationalism,  because  they  did  not  con- 
sider it  to  be  truly  Russian,  but  rather,  \\^estern  music. 
They  held  that  Rubinstein  and  Tchaikovsky  were 
slaves  to  the  influences  of  the  occidental  traditions,  a 
bondage  the  continuance  of  which  could  only  termin- 
ate in  the  extinction  of  truly  national  music. 

Cui's  polemical  ardour,  which  he  inherited  from  his 
father,  his  ironical  style  and  the  ruthlessness  of  his 
attacks  upon  the  opposing  faction,  were,  no  doubt,  re- 
sponsible for  retarding  the  rapprochement  which  has 
since  taken  place  between  the  parties.  When  it  is  re- 
membered, for  instance,  that  Rubinstein  was  charac- 
terised by  Cui  as  not  being  a  Russian  composer  but 
"merely  a  Russian  who  composes,"  it  will  easily  be 
understood  that  the  hatchet  was  not  of  dimensions  cal- 
culated to  facilitate  expeditious  burial  !  Cui  usually 
managed  to  introduce  a  bitterness  into  his  references  to 
Tchaikovsky  which  was  keenly  resented  by  the  latter, 
and  on  the  appearance,  in  1874,  of  Tchaikovsky's 
opera,  "  The  Opritchnik,"  Cui  instituted  a  quite  un- 
necessary comparison  between  this  work  and  Mous- 
sorgsky's  "  Boris  Godounoff." 

Tchaikovsky  occasionally  retorted,  thus  pouring 
spirit  upon  the  controversial  flame,  and  he  may  cer- 
tainly be  considered  to  ha\e  done  himself  little  credit 
in  averring  that  Cui  was  not  a  specialist  in  music,  but 
in  military  fortification. 


J5RITISH    OPERA-GOERS'    DEP/r   TO   CUI.  85 

But,  putting^  aside  Ciii's  unfortunate  tendency 
towards  spitefulness,  it  must  be  claimed  for  him  that 
Western  knowledge  of  the  modern  Russian  musical 
ideal  and  the  manner  of  its  expression  is  very  largely 
duo  to  his  efforts.  It  is  to  the  publication  of  his  "  His- 
tory of  Music  in  Russia "  that  France  owes  its  closn 
acquaintance  with  Russian  music,  and  but  for  the  sym- 
pathies of  the  French,  which  have  resulted  in  provid- 
ing a  break  in  the  long  Westward  journey,  the  produc- 
tion in  England  of  the  greatest  works  of  the  national- 
ist school  would  probably  have  been  delayed  until 
their  idiom  had  grown  sufficiently  old-fashioned  to 
have  lost  their  appeal  as  emanations  of  a  pioneer 
mo\-ement. 

Cui  is  the  onh'  sur\'ivor  of  the  "  Invincible  Band." 


III. 

BORODIN. 

IN  passing  from  Ciii  to  Borodin  one  is  provided  with 
a  remarkable  study  in  contrasts.  The  influence  of 
the  former's  compositions  upon  subsequent  musical  his- 
tory may  be  considered  as  nil.  That  of  Borodin  is 
immeasurable.  Cui,  as  has  been  noted,  mherited  with 
the  French  blood  of  his  father  a  taste  for  things 
western,  and  much  of  his  music  would  pass  as  French. 
Borodin  had  the  strcngesl:  sympathies  with  the  east, 
due  to  his  descent,  and  revealed  in  nearly  all  his  pub- 
lished works.  Cui  was  of  a  disputative  turn  of  mind 
and  loved  few  things  better  than  a  controversial  en- 
counter in  which  his  pugnacity  could  be  given  full 
vent.  Borodin's  disposition  was  particularly  sym- 
pathetic and  lovable  and  he  was  happiest  in  making 
friendships  of  a  permanent  order.  Forsaking  con- 
trasts and  seeking  resemblances,  we  discover  that  Boro- 
din distributed  his  activities  over  two  distinct  voca- 
tions and  achieved  in  each  a  superlative  distinction. 
There  is  here  a  sufficient  answer  to  those  who  contend 


JiORODIN'S    \'ERSATILITY.  8/ 

that  the  serious  pursuit  of  music  is  incompatible  with 
a  proper  attention  to  a  second  and  legitimately  lucra- 
tive occupation.  We  have  hardly  finished  chronicling 
the  life-work  of  a  creative  musician,  who  was  con- 
sidered sufficientl)'  equipped  with  special  knowledge 
to  be  entrusted  with  the  military  instruction  of  his 
future  sovereign,  when  we  are  confronted  with  a  figure 
whose  influence  in  the  sphere  of  musical  composition 
was  exceedingly  far-reaching,  not  only  in  his  own 
country,  but  abroad  m  Western  Europe,  whose  advo- 
cacy of  the  emancipation  of  women  at  a  period  con- 
siderably anterior  to  the  publication  of  "Doll's  House" 
may  safely  be  termed  prophetic,  and  whose  scientific 
treatises  have  become  standard  works  of  reference. 
However  deficient  in  musical  technique  Borodin  may 
have  been,  one  has  only  to  remember  his  second  sym- 
phony and  his  sociological  labours  to  perceive  that  the 
limitations  in  the  one  could  have  been  sufficiently  dis- 
sipated had  he  chosen  to  refrain  from  pursuing  the 
other.  This  hypothetical  rearrangement  of  his  activi- 
ties would  still  leave  to  us,  in  addition  to  the  output  of 
a  consummate  musician,  the  "  Researches  upon  the 
Fluoride  of  Benzole"  and  "The  Solidification  of 
Aldehydes." 

Alexander  Porphyrievich  Borodin  was  born  at  St. 
Petersburg  on  October  31,  1834.  He  was  the  natural 
son  of  Prince  Gedeanoff,  a  descendant  of  the  heredi- 
tary rulers  of  the  kingdom  of  Imeretia,  one  of  the  divi- 
sions of  Georgia  made  at  its  partition  by  Alexander  I 
in  1424.  Imeretia  enjoys  the  shelter  of  the  Caucasian 
mountains,  which  endows  its  climate  with  an  unusual 
clemency. 

It  is  to  this  descent  that  Borodin's  oriental  tendency 


88  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

is  to  be  traced  and  also  his  peculiarly  striking  physi- 
ognomic cast.  His  truly  spontaneous  nationalism 
which,  according  to  a  French  admirer,  "exuded  from 
every  pore,"  made  itself  apparent  and  persisted  in 
spite  of  the  circumstance  that,  unlike  his  colleagues, 
Ralakireff,  Moussorgsky  and  Rimsky-Korsakcff,  he  did 
not  spend  his  youth  in  the  country,  nor  did  he  come,  as 
they,  into  early  contact  with  the  Russian  peasantry. 
The  opportunity  which  fell  to  them  of  storing  up 
bucolic  sketches  for  future  enlargement  was  denied 
him.  The  nationalism  of  Borodin  is  a  pure  product  of 
heredity  and  owes  nothing  to  environment. 

His  father,  at  die  time  of  Borodin's  birth,  was  sixty- 
two  years  old  and  his  mother  but  twenty-five;  to  this 
disparity  in  the  parents'  ages  has  been  attributed  the 
weakness  in  his  constitution,  which  was  probably  the 
cause  of  the  occasional  fits  of  deep  depression  from 
which  he  suffered. 

His  mother  gave  a  laudable  attention  to  his  educa- 
tion, and  the  musical  side  cannot  have  been  neglected, 
for  at  nine  years  of  age  he  began  already  to  make 
some  experiments  in  composition.  About  this  time  his 
taste  for  the  scientific  became  active,  and  the  two  pro- 
clivities were  fostered  through  the  agency  of  the  com- 
panionship of  his  playmate,  Shchigleff,  who  after- 
wards became  a  successful  teacher  (^f  music.  The  in- 
timacy with  Shchigleff  lasted  for  a  number  of  years. 
They  went  together  to  concerts,  and  in  order  to  gain  a 
close  acquaintance  with  chamber  music,  for  which  they 
had  a  special  regard,  they  took  lessons,  Borodin  on  the 
'cello  and  flute,  and  Shchigleff  on  the  violin.  In  1847 
Borodin  made  his  first  completed  creative  essay,  a  con- 


MUSIC   AND    MEDICINE.  89 

certo  for  flute  and  piano,  and  a  little  later  he  wrote  a 
trio  for  two  violins  and  'cello  on  a  theme  from  "  Robert 
the  Devil." 

Tn  1850,  when  in  his  sixteenth  year,  it  was  derided 
tliat  Borodm  should  embrace  a  medical  career,  and  lie 
entered,  accordingly,  the  St.  Petersburg  Academy  of 
Medicine.  He  remained  faithful  to  the  muse,  nnd 
abhough  he  prosecuted  his  scientific  studies  with 
\igour,  he  found  time  to  cultivate  his  taste  for  music, 
to  which  end  he  frequently  devoted  the  "  small  hours." 
He  availed  himself  of  every  possible  opportunity  of 
participating  in  the  performance  of  chamber  music, 
and  these  were  frequently  offered  him  at  che  house  of 
his  friend,  Gavroushkievich,  an  attache  to  the  Imperial 
Chancery.  At  this  time  he  seems  to  have  inclined 
towards  German  music,  owing  perhaps  to  the  circum- 
stance that  in  deference  to  his  modier's  dislike  of  the 
habits  of  Russian  students,  he  foregathered,  whenever 
possible,  with  Germans.  He  did  not  neglect  the  tech- 
nical side  of  musical  study,  and  in  11854  we  find  him 
trying  his  hand  at  a  three-part  fugue.  A  Scherzo  in  B 
minor  for  piano  belongs  to  the  same  period.  This  pre- 
occupation with  music  obtained  for  him  the  displeasure 
of  his  science  professor,  who  foresaw  the  danger  that 
might  arise  from  a  complete  absorption  in  music,  an 
obsession  which  at  that  time  seemed  imminent.  Inter- 
esting accounts  of  his  musical  doings  during  his  medi- 
cal novitiate  were  later  embodied  by  Shchigleff  in  his 
memoirs. 

That  Borodin  did  not  fail  to  satisfy  his  preceptors 
is  proved  by  his  appointment,  in  1856,  as  surgeon  at  an 
army  hospital — a  circumstance  which  later  assumed 
the  greater  importance,  because  it  was  here  that  he  first 


go  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

met  Moussorgsky.  The  first  stage  of  the  acquaint- 
anceship did  not  last  long,  because  the  principal  medi- 
cal officer  at  the  hospital,  at  whose  house  they  occasion- 
ally met,  resigned  his  post  soon  after,  and  the  two 
musicians  thus  lost  sight  of  each  other  and  did  not 
meet  again  for  some  three  years.  This  abortive  asso- 
ciation was  not,  however,  entirely  unproductive,  for  the 
influence  of  Moussorgsky's  already  emphatic  views  as 
to  the  value  of  nationalism  as  a  source  of  musical  in- 
spiration was  not  without  its  effect  on  Borodin,  and  is 
said  to  have  finally  emancipated  the  latter  from  his 
dangerous  affection  for  German  music. 

Borodin  took  his  degree  and  became  a  doctor  of 
medicine  in  1858,  and  in  the  following  year  he  began 
a  scientific  pilgrimage,  at  the  expense  of  the  Russian 
government,  which  lasted  the  greater  part  of  three 
years,  during  which  he  busied  himself  in  studying  the 
theories  held  and  the  methods  employed  at  various 
noted  centres.  He  travelled  in  the  company  of  the 
celebrated  chemist,  Mendeleieff,  and  a  party  of  stu- 
dents. They  visited  in  turn,  X^enice,  \^erona  and 
Milan ;  thence  they  travelled  to  Austria  and  Germany 
and,  later,  a  short  time  was  spent  in  Paris.  A  pro- 
tracted stay  was  made  at  Heidelberg,  and  here  Boro- 
din made  the  acquaintance  of  Catherine  Sergeievna 
Protopova,  a  lady  whose  personal  charm  was  intensi- 
fied in  Borodin's  eyes  by  an  impeccable  taste  for  music. 
She  afterwards  became  his  wife,  and  to  judge  by  the 
subsequent  correspondence,  the  union  must  have  been  a 
singularly  happy  one. 

During  these  travels,  Borodin's  attention  was  not  en- 
tirely absorbed  b\'  their  primar}'  object.  Whilst  at 
Heidelberg   he   composed    a    Sextet    in    D.     T^"iis    can 


STUDIES    WITH    BALAKIREFF.  9 1 

hardly  have  been  regarded  as  a  serious  effort,  written, 
as  the  composer  informs  us  it  was,  "  to  please  the  Ger- 
mans." It  was  performed  during  i860  at  Heidelberg, 
but  was  never  published. 

In  1862,  on  his  return  to  Russia,  he  received  the  ap- 
pointment of  assistant  lecturer  at  the  St.  Petersburg 
Academy  of  Medicine.  In  this  year  he  was  introduced 
to  Balakireff,  with  whom  Moussorgsky  had  begun  to 
study,  and  Borodin  was  then  shown  certain  specimens 
of  nationalistic  music,  among  others  the  first  symphony 
of  Rimsky-Korsakoff,  which  Balakireff  and  ]\Ioussorg- 
sky  played  over  to  him  on  the  piano.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  Borodin's  serious  devotion  to  music. 
Recognising  the  limited  nature  of  his  technique  as 
composer,  he  placed  himself  under  Balakireff 's  guid- 
ance, with  a  view  to  increasing  his  resources.  This  ho 
must  have  achieved  with  rapidity,  for  it  was  but  a  little 
later  that  he  started  working  upon  his  first  symphony 
(in  E  flat),  which  occupied  him  for  five  years. 

His  marriage  took  place  in  1863,  and  it  was  in  this 
year  that  he  undertook  some  further  lectures  in  chemis- 
try, to  be  delivered  at  the  Academy  of  Forestr)'.  This 
extra  work,  coming  as  it  did  at  a  time  when  he  was 
busily  engaged  with  Balakireff,  must  have  brought  in 
its  train  a  considerable  amount  of  mental  fatigue,  and 
there  was  ample  evidence,  soon  after,  that  Borodin's 
varied  activities  were  inimical  to  the  incerests  of  his 
health.  But  he  took  little  account  of  the  strain  upon 
his  constitution,  and  inaugurated  a  campaign  on  be- 
half of  the  emancipation  and  higher  education  of 
women,  a  labour  which  ultimately  bore  fruit  in  the 
foundation  of  the  School  of  Medicine  for  Women,  at 


92  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF    RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

which  institution  he  afterwards  taught,  remaining  on 
the  staff  and  taking  a  deep  interest  in  the  movement 
for  the  remainder  of  his  Ufe. 

The  Symphcn)'  m  E  flat,  begun  in  1862,  received  its 
first  performance  at  the  hands  of  the  Russian  Musical 
Societ}',  of  which  Eakikireff  was  then  the  conductor,  in 
1869.  Owing  p:irtly  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  copyist, 
the  band  parts  were  far  from  perfect,  and  this,  coupled 
with  the  unfamiliar  idiom  of  the  composer,  was  re- 
sponsible for  certain  misgivings  on  the  part  of  the  or- 
chestra during  rehearsal.  At  the  accual  performance, 
however,  the  success  of  the  symphony  was  not  long  in 
doubt.  The  scherzo  had  to  be  repeated,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  work  Borodin  received  a  very  cordial 
testimony  of  his  audience's  esteem. 

Some  idea  as  to  the  technical  improvement  effected 
b)'  the  course  of  study  with  Ralakireff  is  to  be  gathered 
by  reference  to  a  letter  which  Rorodin  received  later 
from  Liszt,  who  praised  .the  symphony  very  highly 
after  hearing  it  at  Raden-Baden  in  1880.  "The  best 
connoisseurs,  as  well  as  a  very  numerous  public  ap- 
plauded you  heartily,"  wrote  Liszt. 

According  to  Tchaikovsky,  this  symphony  was  the 
means  of  making  Borodin's  reputation  in  Germany,  but 
the  St.  Petersburg  critics  were  not  disposed  to  forget 
the  origins  of  the  "Five"  and  did  not  fail  to  make 
Rorodin  the  scapegoat  of  this  coterie  of  "  soldiers, 
sailors  and  chemists."  Seroff  succeeded  in  surpassing 
himself  in  gratuitous  impertinence  by  writing  that  "a 
symphony  by  somebody  of  the  name  of  Borodin 
pleased  very  few  hearers,  and  only  the  friends  of  the 
composer  applauded  .  .  .  ." 

Borodin  was  not  the  sort  of  man  10  be  deceived  liy 


LAROCHE   ON   BORODIN.  93 

any  false  demonstration  of  approval,  and  the  fact  that 
he  dcrixed  great  encouragement  from"  the  result  of  the 
performance  of  his  first  symphonic  essay  is  sufficient 
testimony  to  the  genumeness  of  its  reception.  He 
began  to  work  upon  an  opera  after  Mey's  drama,  "The 
Czar's  Petrothed,"  but  seems  to  have  felt  that  his 
powers  were  not  yet  ripe  for  such  an  undertaking,  for 
after  a  considerable  amount  of  labour  upon  it,  he  aban- 
doned the  work.  This  period  is  notable,  however,  for 
a  quite  remarkable  activity  (considering  the  varied 
claims  upon  his  attention),  and  in  the  three  years  fol- 
lowing the  production  of  the  first  symphony,  he  wrote 
some  of  his  finest  songs.  These,  in  order  of  their  ap- 
pearance, are  "The  Sleeping  Beauty,"  "Song  of  the 
Dim  Forest,"  "Dissonance,"  "The  Queen  of  the  Ocean," 
"  My  Song  is  Bitter,"  and  "  The  Sea,"  and  all  have  at- 
tained a  permanent  esteem  in  spite  of  the  critical  dis- 
pleasure they  provoked  at  the  time  of  their  publica- 
tion. Laroche,  who  succeeded  Seroff  as  musical  cor- 
respondent on  the  St.  Petersburg  "  Golos,"  and  who 
affected  an  attitude  which  had  much  m  common  with 
the  curlier  manner  of  his  predecessor,  contributed  an 
article  which  is  a  striking  example  of  the  outspoken 
method  of  contemporary  criticism.  The  notice  refers 
in  particular  to  "  The  Sleeping  BeautV."  "  The  greater 
part  of  this  romance,"  said  Laroche,  "  is  wricten  pianis- 
simo. No  doubt  the  composer  uses  this  mode  of  ex- 
pression wisely  out  of  consideration  for  his  audience, 
or  it  may  be  from  a  sense  of  shame,  as  things  are  whis- 
pered which  one  would  not  dare  to  say  aloud.  And 
certainly  in  all  his  works  he  seems  to  be  bent  on  giving 
his  hearers  some  disagreeable  sensation.  The  title  of 
one  of  his  songs,  '  Dissonance,'  appears  to  be  his  motto. 


94  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Once  only,  in  his  quartet,  he  seems  to  have  abjured  his 
ideal.  Reflecting  on  the  abundance  of  his  cacophonies 
he  wrote  one  day  ni  self-defence,  'My  Song  is  Bitter'; 
but  this  good  inspiration  passed  awa)-  too  soon  and 
ended  in  nothing,  for  last  autumn  he  published, 
through  Eessel,  three  new  romances  which  are  steeped 
in  the  old  poison.  It  is  hard  to  believe,  but  none  the 
less  indisputable,  that  this  bitter  enemy  of  music  is 
not  without  talent,  for  side  by  side  with  the  unwhole- 
some and  misshapen  extravagances  with  which  his 
work  abounds,  we  occasionally  find  rich  harmonies. 
After  all,  it  may  be  that  the  impulse  which  inclines 
him  towards  what  is  unlovely  is  contrary  to  his  native 
instinct,  and  is  only  the  bitter  fruit  of  a  defective 
education  in  art." 

In  1 87 1, Borodin  began  once  more  to  prepare  for  the 
composition  of  an  opera,  but  although  he  obtained 
from  Stassoff  the  necessary  dramatic  substance — an 
ancient  national  epic — "  The  Epic  of  the  Army  of 
Igor  "—and  made  an  infinite  amount  of  research  in 
order  thoroughly  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  period, 
(the  twelfth  century),  he  seems  again  to  have  suffered 
from  a  sort  of  disenchantment.  He  decided,  queer ly 
enough,  that  subjects  such  as  that  of  "Igor"  were  not 
to  be  fitly  embodied  in  opera. 

He  resolved  to  occupy  himself  instead  with  a  second 
symphony,  but  had  hardly  finished  the  first  movement, 
when  his  attention  was  draw^n  once  more  to  the  theatre. 
The  director  of  the  Russian  Opera,  Gedeonoff,  who 
was  himself  a  dramatic  author  of  some  considerable 
power,  approached,  through  Stassoff,  four  of  the  allied 
composers,  Cui,  Borodin,  Moussorgsky  and  Rimsky- 
Korsakoff,  with  the  suggestion  that  a  composite  work 


"  MLADA."  95 

should  be  written  by  them — it  was  to  take  the  form 
of  an  opera-ballet— on  the  subject  of  "  Mlada,"  which 
was  derived  from  a  historic  chronicle  dating  from  pre- 
Christian  times  in  Russia.  "Mlada"  was  to  have  four 
acts.  Gedeonoff  made  himself  responsible  for  the 
libretto,  the  actual  ballet  music  was  to  be  written  by 
Minkus,  who  had  recently  returned  from  a  successful 
sojourn  in  Paris,  where  he  had  collaborated  in  a  simi- 
lar enterprise  with  Delibes,  and  the  four  composers 
were  each  to  provide  the  vocal  music  of  one  act.  To 
Borodin  fell  the  last  act.  None  of  his  colleagues  was 
more  enthusiastic  than  Borodin,  w^ho  entered  into  the 
scheme  wdth  ardour  and  paid  a  characteristic  atten- 
tion to  the  details  of  atmosphere  and  local  colour.  He 
studied  the  customs,  beliefs  and  religious  ceremonies 
of  the  pagan  Slavs  and  made  every  possible  research 
likely  to  contribute  to  the  artistic  value  of  his  work. 
He  was  rewarded  in  the  end  by  a  general  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  superiority  of  his  last  act  over  those  pro- 
vided by  his  friends,  who  were  the  first,  it  must  be 
said,  to  congratulate  him.  In  the  end  the  whole 
scheme  fell  through.  The  production  was  to  have  been 
carried  out  on  the  most  sumptuous  lines,  but  the  ques- 
tion of  the  inordinate  expenditure,  w^hich  would 
have  been  involved,  seems  to  have  been  overlooked  by 
Gedeonoff  until  the  material  was  wellnigh  complete. 
The  project  was  suddenly  abandoned  and  Gedeonoff 
resigned  his  post.  Borodin's  contribution  was  revised 
after  his  death,  published,  and  performed  under  the 
direction  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff,  who  was  so  impressed 
with  the  beauty  of  "  Mlada "  as  subject-matter  that 
he  actually  made  use,  later  on,  of  the  whole  libretto. 


96  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

The  resultant  work  was  performed  with  great  success 
at  St.  Petersburg,  m  1893. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  praise  bestowed  upon 
his  "Mlada"  music  should  have  inspired  Borodni  to 
return  to  "  Prince  Igor."  He  was  further  encouraged 
to  proceed  with  this  work  by  a  former  pupil  w4io  had 
recently  returned  from  the  Caucasus,  and  who  was 
deeply  impressed,  both  by  Borodin's  intimate  know- 
ledge of  the  subject  of  "Igor"  and  the  appropriate- 
ness of  such  of  the  music  as  had  been  committed  to 
paper. 

The  libretto  of  "Prince  Igor"  is  a  very  slight  affair 
and   is   singularly   lacking   in   dramatic   interest.     The 
opera  consists  of  a  prologue  and  four  acts,  which  seems 
more  than  ample  space  for  so  thin  a  plot.     The  pro- 
logue  shows   the   market-place   of   Poutivle,   the   town 
occupied  by  Igor,  Prince  of  Seversk.     Igor  is  about  to 
pursue  the  Polovtsi,  a  nomadic  eastern  tribe  of  raiders, 
who   have  already   sustained   defeat   at  the  hands   of 
Sviatoslav,  Prince  of  Kiev.    Disregarding  the  evil  por- 
tent presaged  by  an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  and  deaf  to  the 
appeals   of    the   townsfolk,    Ivan    takes   his    departure 
with  his  son,  Vladimir,  having  left  his  wife,  Princess 
Yaroslavna,  in  the  care  of  her  brother.  Prince  Galitzky. 
The  first  act  is  divided  into  two  scenes.     The  first 
reveals   the  conspiracy   organised   by   Prince   Galitzky 
against  the  absent  Igor.     Pie  is  assisted  in  the  spread- 
ing of  disaffection  in  the  town  by  two  hired  rascals, 
Eroshka  and  Skoula,    who    are    relied    upon    for    the 
comic  interest  of  the  opera.     In  the  second  scene,  Prin- 
cess   Yaroslavna     is    seen     lamenting    her    husband's 
absence.     Pier  fears  anent  the  disloyalty  of   Galitzky 
are  increased  when  she  hears  that   some  young  girls 


PLOT  OF   "PRINCE   IGOR.'  97 

have  been  abducted  by  him.  The  scene  closes  with  the 
arrival  of  the  news  that  Igor  and  Vladimir  are  pris- 
oners, and  that  the  Polovtsi  are  advancing  upon 
Poutivle.  The  second  act  introduces  the  element  of 
pre-nuptial  love.  This  and  the  succeeding  act  take 
place  in  the  Polovtsian  camp.  Vladimir  has  suc- 
cumbed to  the  beauty  of  Konchakovna,  the  chief- 
tain's daughter,  and,  at  nightfall,  serenades  her.  Their 
love  passages  are  interrupted  by  Igor,  who  now  mind- 
ful of  the  omen  of  the  eclipse,  is  possessed  by  the  fear 
that  disaster  threatens  Poutivle.  He  is  approached  by 
Ovlour,  a  Christian  convert,  who  exhorts  him  to  escape 
and  promises  his  assistance.  Igor  refuses  on  the 
ground  that  he  would  be  dishonoured  by  thus  abusing 
the  comparative  freedom  which  has  been  allowed  him. 
At  dawn  Konchak,  the  chieftain,  appears,  and  pays  a 
tribute  to  the  bravery  of  his  captive  and  invites  him  to 
participate  in  a  festival  which  is  to  take  place  on  the 
following  day.  He  is  anxious  to  show  his  apprecia- 
tion of  Igor's  valour  by  treating  him  with  every  possi- 
ble friendliness.  At  the  opening  of  the  third  act,  the 
attacking  force  under  Khan  Gsak  returns  from 
Poutivle  with  prisoners  and  loot.  Igor  is  appalled  by 
the  disaster.  Vladimir  succeeds  in  convincing  him  that 
his  first  duty  is  to  consider  his  people,  and  the  son 
who  backs  up  his  precept  by  signifying  his  willingness 
to  renounce  Konchakovna,  finally  induces  his  father 
to  fly.  Ovlour,  having  disorganised  the  guard  by 
means  of  a  liberal  application  of  koiuniss,  an  intoxi- 
cating beverage,  brings  horses.  But  they  have 
reckoned  without  Konchakovna,  who  has  overheard 
their  plans.     She  entreats  Vladimir  not  to   leave  her, 


98  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

and  only  the  reappearance  of  Igor  saves  the  young 
prince  from  surrendering  anew  to  her  enchantments. 
Vladimir  is  distracted  by  the  conflicting  claims  of  love 
and  duty.  The  dramatic  situation  is  intensified  by 
the  exhortations  of  Ovlour,  who  calls  repeatedly  to  the 
prisoners  to  make  good  their  escape.  Konchakovna, 
realising  the  danger  of  losing  Vladimir,  gives  the 
alarm,  and,  although  the  father  escapes,  the  son  is  held 
in  a  bondage  which  is  eventually  dissolved  by  his 
marriage  with  Konchakovna.  The  scene  of  the  fourth 
act  is  laid  once  more  at  Poutivle.  After  an  extremely 
pathetic  lament,  Yaroslavna,  still  bewailing  the  loss 
of  her  husband,  is  suddenly  attracted  by  the  appear- 
ance of  two  riders  on  the  horizon.  These  prove  to  be 
Igor  and  Ovlour,  and  soon  after,  the  reunion  of  hus- 
band and  wife  is  effected.  Eroshka  and  Skoula,  who 
have  witnessed  the  return,  are  consumed  with  the  fear 
of  Igor's  vengeance,  and,  as  an  expedient  to  establish 
ostensible  evidence  of  loyalty,  they  make  use  of  their 
early  intelligence  of  Igor's  safety  and  are  themselves 
the  bearers  of  the  good  tidings  to  the  populace. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  dramatic  material  is  not  par- 
ticularly rich  in  incident.  But  the  vast  scope  for  the 
introduction  of  oriental  colouring  was  not  likely  to  be 
neglected  by  one  of  Borodin's  tendencies,  and  he  was 
well  prepared  by  his  studies.  The  festival  of  the 
Polovtsi  gave  him  a  splendid  opportunity  for  a  musi- 
cal treatment  of  the  barbaric,  and  the  dances  and 
choruses  in  the  second  and  third  acts  testify  to  his 
capacity  for  such  a  task.  The  love  scene  between 
Vladimir  and  Konchakovna  gives  evidence  of  his 
power  of  depicting  human  passion  m  musical   terms, 


BORODIN'S   OPERATIC  PRINCIPLES.  QQ 

while  the  passage  in  the  third  act  between  Konclia- 
kovna,  Igor  and  Madiniir  shows  his  mastery  in  the 
render  nig  of  psychic  torments  by  the  same  means. 

In  the  composition  of  "Prince  Igor"  Borodin  soon 
discovered,  through  his  own  very  marked  tendencies, 
that  a  strict  adherence  to  the  tenets  of  the  "Five"  was 
not  to  be  thought  of.  His  own  words  best  describe 
his  feelings  in  respect  of  the  question  of  operatic  con- 
struction. "  .  .  .  .  from  the  dramatic  point  of  view  I 
have  ahvays  been  unlike  the  majority  (of  his  friends). 
Recitative  does  not  enter  into  my  nature  or  disposition. 
Although  according  to  some  critics  I  do  not  handle  it 
altogether  badly,  I  am  far  more  attracted  to  melody 
and  cantilena.  I  am  more  drawn  to  definite  and  con- 
crete forms.  In  opera,  as  in  decorative  art,  details  and 
minutiae  are  out  of  place.  Bold  outlines,  only,  are 
necessary ;  all  should  be  clear  and  straightforward  and 
fit  for  practical  performance  from  the  vocal  and  in- 
strumental standpoint.  The  voices  should  occupy  the 
first  place,  the  orchestra  the  second.  I  am  no  judge  of 
the  way  in  which  I  shall  succeed,  but  my  opera  will  be 
nearer  akin  to  '  Russian '  than  to  '  The  Stone  Guest.' 
That  I  can  vouch  for."  The  passage  immediately  fol- 
lowing is  no  less  interesting.  "  It  is  curious  to  see  how 
all  the  members  of  our  set  agree  in  their  praise  of  my 
work.  While  controversy  rages  amongst  us  on  every 
other  subject,  all,  so  far,  are  pleased  with  'Igor.' 
Moussorgsky,  the  ultra-realist,  the  innovating  lyrico- 
dramatist,  Cui,  our  master,  Balakireff,  so  severe  as  re- 
gards form  and  tradition,  Vladimir  Stassoff  himself, 
our  valiant  champion  of  everything  that  bears  the 
stamp  of  novelty  or  greatness." 


lOO  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

The  progress  of  the  opera  was  delayed  from  various 
causes.  Borodin's  health  was  not  of  the  best,  and  his 
wife  had  become  more  or  less  of  an  invalid.  His  work 
at  the  Academy  of  Medicine  was  exceedingly  heavy, 
and  in  addition  to  these  adverse  circumstances,  he  was 
embarrassed  by  an  insufficiency  of  income.  In  the  end 
Borodin  was  unable  to  finish  his  opera,  and  it  was  not 
until  three  years  after  his  death  that  it  received  its 
first  performance.  Its  completion  was  undertaken  by 
Rimsky-Korsakoff  and  Glazounoff,  his  pupil.  Between 
them  they  orchestrated  the  greater  portion  of  the  work 
and  filled  in  many  gaps.  The  overture  had  never  been 
written  down  by  Borodin,  but  Glazounoff  had  heard  it 
played  by  the  composer  so  frequently  as  to  enable  him 
to  give  a  faithful  account  of  it  on  paper,  and  it  was 
orchestrated  according  to  Borodin's  own  expressed 
plans.  He  had  left  a  good  many  materials  for  their 
guidance,  and  of  these  the  editors  availed  themselves 
to  the  utmost. 

By  the  end  of  1876  Borodin  had  finished  his  second 
symphony,  and  early  in  February,  1877,  it  was  per- 
formed at  St.  Petersburg  under  the  direction  of 
Napravnik.  For  this  work  he  had  gathered  a  goodly 
harvest  of  inspiration  from  the  researches  made  in  pre- 
paring to  deal  with  "  Prince  Igor,"  and  although  the 
symphony  is  not  actually  written  to  a  definite  pro- 
gramme, it  is  instinct  with  the  spirit  of  nationalism. 

*'  Listenhig  to  this  music,"  said  one  of  the  critics, 
*' we  recall  the  memory  of  the  old  Russian  w^arriors  in 
all  their  uncouthness,  but  also  in  all  their  grandeur  of 
character."  The  production  of  the  symphony  was  not 
attended  with  any  particular  success,  but  its  later  in- 


BORODIN   DUBBED    "NIHILIST."  lOI 

fluence  on  subsequent  Russian  compositions  is  incal- 
culable and  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  a  record  of  an 
early  opinion  of  Felix  Weingartner  to  the  effect  that 
this  is  the  most  important  work  of  the  modern  Russian 
school  known  to  him.  But  what  should  appear  re- 
markable, at  least  to  those  who  are  not  constantly  tak- 
ing note  of  the  contemporary  estimation  of  progressive 
music,  and  observing  the  perpetually  recurring  reproach 
of  iconoclasm,  invariably  levelled  against  the  pioneer 
— a  permanent  feature  of  musical  history — is  that  Boro- 
din was  freely  spoken  of  as  a  "musical  nihilist."  In 
respect  of  Borodin  there  was  the  same  tendency  to  re- 
gard the  revelation  of  a  new  aspect  of  music  as  a  wan- 
ton destruction  or  wilful  disregard  t)f  every  tradition. 
But  there  is  no  lack  of  instances  of  this  species  of 
faulty  judgment  in  the  history  of  the  arts,  and  at  the 
present  moment,  as  at  so  many  other  epochs  in  musical 
history,  the  music  which  not  long  since  was  alleged  to 
be  sending  the  art  "  to  the  dogs,"  is  being  credited  with 
those  attributes  which  are  considered  likely  to  gain  for 
it  the  most  cordial  approval  of  the  gods  ! 

In  1877  Borodin  made  another  pilgrimage  to  western 
Europe.  He  travelled  with  two  of  his  science  pupils. 
In  search  of  new  ideas,  they  first  visited  some  of  the 
principal  German  universities,  and,  later  on,  Borodin 
continued  the  journey  to  Weimar  in  order  to  attain  one 
of  its  chief  objects,  a  personal  acquaintance  with  Liszt. 
Liszt's  regard  for  the  Russian  school  had  been  a  source 
of  much  satisfaction  to  the  "  Five,"  and  a  perusal  of  the 
letters  written  by  Borodin  to  his  wife  during  his  stay 
at  Weimar,  not  only  affords  a  comprehensive  portrayal 
of   Liszt's   personality,   but   shows   that   the  friend   of 


102  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

W^agner  was  blessed  with  an  openmindedness  and  a 
freedom  from  the  usual  distressing  effect  of  partisan- 
ship quite  uncommon  in  those  who  have  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  interests  of  some  one  master.  At  the  first 
meeting  Liszt  seems  to  have  been  eager  to  gain  news  of 
Borodin's  colleagues,  and  in  view  of  his  intimacy  with 
their  work  and  his  esteem  for  it,  it  seems  all  the  more 
strange  that  it  should  have  fallen  short  of  achieving  a 
general  popularity  throughout  Europe.  Borodin's  ac- 
count of  this  meeting  is  particularly  happy,  in  that  it 
creates  a  vivid  atmosphere  which  enables  us  the  better 
to  reconstruct  the  scene  between  the  two  musicians. 
"  Scarcely  had  I  sent  in  m\'  card  when  there  arose 
before  me,  as  though  out  of  the  ground,  a  tall  figure 
with  a  long  nose,  a  long  black  frock-coat  and  long 
white  hair.  '  You  have  written  a  fine  symphony,' 
growled  the  tall  figure,  in  a  resonant  voice  and  in  ex- 
cellent French;  and  he  stretched  out  a  long  hand  and 
a  long  arm.  '  \Wlcome  !  I  am  delighted  to  see  you. 
Only  two  days  ago  I  played  your  symphony  to  the 
grand  duke,  who  w^as  charmed  with  it.  The  first 
movement  is  perfect.  Your  andante  is  a  chef  cVceuvre. 
The  scherzo  is  enchanting  ....  and  then  this  passage 
is  so  ingenious  !'  and  then  his  long  fingers  began  to 
'peck,'  to  use  the  picturesque  expression  which  Mous- 
sorgsky  made  use  of  to  describe  the  progression  of 
distant  intervals,  pizzicati,  in  the  scherzo  and  finale  of 
my  first  symphony.  He  ran  on  incessantly ;  his  strong 
hand  caught  my  own  and  held  me  down  to  a  sofa, 
where  there  was  nothing  left  for  me  to  do  but  nod 
approval  and  lose  myself  in  thanks.  The  fine  face  of 
the  old  man,  with  its  energetic,  vivacious  features,  was 


"CHOPSTICKS."  103 

uplifted  before  me,  while  he  talked  incessantly,  over- 
whelming me  with  questions,  passing  from  French  to 
German  and  vice  versa."  Borodin  also  describes  the 
daily  life  of  Liszt  in  Weimar.  He  presents  an  admir- 
able picture  of  the  relations  between  the  great  pianist 
and  his  pupils,  and  of  the  constant  stream  of  visitors, 
celebrated  musicians,  all  anxious  to  pay  homage  to 
Liszt. 

Borodin,  like  Mcussorgsky  and  Rimsky-Korsakoff, 
did  very  little  to  add  to  the  repertory  of  the  piano,  but 
one  of  his  two  contributions  calls  for  mention  here,  as 
it  provides  evidence  of  Liszt's  sympathy  with  the  new 
Russian  school.  Borodin  was  one  day  asked  by  one  of 
his  adopted  daughters  (he  had  several)  to  play  a  duet 
with  her.  He  was  astonished  at  the  proposal,  knowing 
that  the  girl  was  no  pianist,  but  was  in  a  way  reassured 
when  she  explained  that  the  object  of  their  concerted 
efforts  was  to  be  the  pianistic  device  known  in  England 
as  "  chop-sticks."  Borodin  improvised  a  polka  on  the 
theme  and  subsequently  submitted  the  notion  to  his 
friends.  The  upshot  was  one  of  those  collaborative 
enterprises  inaugurated  by  the  joint  composition  of 
"  Mlada,"  and  since  become  quite  popular  with  Russian 
composers.  Borodin  was  joined  by  Cui,  Liadoff  and 
Rimsky-Korsakoff.  These  "Paraphrases,"  consisting 
of  twenty-four  variations  and  fourteen  little  pieces, 
were  published,  and  quickly  attracted  the  notice  of 
Liszt,  who  was  charmed  by  the  humour  of  the  idea, 
both  in  regard  to  form  and  substance.  As  a  practical 
proof  of  his  sincere  esteem,  Liszt  composed  an  addi- 
tional number  in  the  form  of  a  prelude  to  a  polka  by 
Borodin.     This  was  embodied  in  the  second  edition. 


104  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

On  his  return  from  the  tour  of  Germany,  Borodin  set 
to  work  again  on  "  Prince  Igor,"  finished  his  first  quar- 
tet, that  in  A  major  on  a  theme  taken  from  the  finale 
of  Beethoven's  Quartet,  Op.  130,  and  in  1880  he  com- 
posed his  symphonic  poem,  "  In  the  Steppes  of  Central 
Asia."  This,  like  the  second  symphony,  derives  a  great 
deal  from  the  exhaustive  research  undertaken  during 
the  preparation  of  the  literary  basis  of  "  Prince  Igor." 
It  was  written  for  a  series  of  living  pictures  organised 
to  celebrate  the  silver  jubilee  of  Alexander  II,  in  which 
were  to  figure  a  series  of  episodes  relative  to  the  his- 
tory of  Russia.  Borodin's  symphonic  poem  describes 
in  some  very  vivid  music,  the  passage  of  a  caravan 
across  the  desert  under  escort  of  Russian  soldiers.  By 
means  of  two  themes,  one  Russian  and  the  other  ori- 
ental, which  subsequently  mingle  in  the  harmonic 
scheme,  the  composer  contrives  to  effect  a  musical  re- 
production of  the  figures  in  the  foreground  of  his  pic- 
ture. The  immensity  and  monotony  of  the  prairie  is 
suggested  by  a  long  and  persistent  note  given  to  the 
violins.  This  work  in  its  composer's  lifetime  was  quite 
the  most  popular  of  all  his  compositions,  and  in  his 
own  words  had  "  gone  the  round  of  Europe  from 
Christiania  to  Monaco,  and  in  spite  of  its  patriotic 
programme  (the  success  of  Russian  arms  in  Asia),  this 
work  has  been  encored  almost  everywhere  and  often 
repeated  by  desire,  as  at  the  Strauss  concerts  in  Vienna 
and  the  Lamoureux  concerts  in  Paris." 

In  1 88 1  Borodin  paid  another  visit  to  Germany  and 
had  quite  an  accidental  meeting  with  Liszt.  Through 
the  latter's  intervention,  the  Russian's  advice  was 
sought  as  to  the  rendering  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  sym- 


BORODIN  ACCLAIMED   IN  BELGIUM.  105 

phonic  suite,  "  Antar,"  then  in  rehearsal  for  the  Magde- 
burg festival,  where  it  was  to  be  conducted  by  Nikisch. 
During  this  year  he  wrote  a  song — to  the  text  of  Push- 
kin— dedicated  to  the  memory  of  Moussorgsky  who 
had  just  died. 

In  1885  he  joined  Cui  in  the  visit  to  Belgium,  already 
spoken  of  in  the  chapter  dealing  with  that  composer. 
In  Borodin's  lifetime  nowhere  did  he  find  a  more  sym- 
pathetic regard  for  his  works  than  in  Belgium.  The 
honours  there  paid  him  seem  to  have  been  such  as  to 
turn  the  head  of  even  this  modest  man,  and  in  a  letter 
to  his  wife  written  during  this  visit,  he  expresses 
opinions  as  to  the  Belgian  character  which  might  well 
be  calculated  to  astonish  the  Belgians  themselves.  The 
Countess  Mercy-Argenteau  worked  hard  on  his  behalf 
and  as  a  result  he  was  invited  to  conduct  his  own  works 
at  various  musical  centres  in  Belgium,  notably  at  Ant- 
werp where  an  international  exhibition  was  being  held. 
His  second  symphony  was  everywhere  received  with 
the  warmest  enthusiasm.  So  great  was  his  success  that 
he  had  to  refuse  several  engagements  as  conductor,  and 
a  proposal  was  actually  made  by  certain  musical  or- 
ganisations that  they  should  call  upon  the  Russian 
authorities  to  grant  an  extension  of  his  leave.  Finally 
he  arranged  to  pay  a  return  visit  to  Belgium  at  the  end 
of  the  year,  and  he  then  found  himself  the  object  of  an 
idolatry  which  might  well  have  flattered  the  most 
hardened  prima  donna.  He  was  "besieged  with  de- 
mands for  autographs"  and  "overwhelmed  with  com- 
pliments." The  after  result  of  these  visits  shows  that 
these  demonstrations  were   sincere,    for  the  works  of 


I06  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Borodin  were  thenceforth  looked  upon  in  Belgium  as 
of  classic  value. 

He  paid  a  tribute  to  the  Countess  by  dedicating  to 
her  a  suite  comprising  seven  small  pieces  for  piano,  one 
of  his  choicest  works,  and  a  septet  for  voices  and  piano, 
which  was  published  at  Liege.  Jadoul,  her  friend, 
who  had  been  primarily  instrumental  in  bringing  the 
Russians  to  the  notice  of  the  Countess,  was  also  remem- 
bered, and  to  him  was  dedicated  a  scherzo  in  A  flat  for 
orchestra. 

Borodin's  last  creative  period  profited  in  the  quality 
of  its  product  by  his  successes  in  Belgium,  which  in- 
spired him  with  something  like  a  complete  confidence 
in  himself.  He  seems  to  have  recognised  the  need  to 
repair  his  neglect  of  the  piano,  and  composed  a  seren- 
ade for  four  hands,  which  was  published  before  his 
death.  He  joined  once  more  with  his  friends  in  cele- 
bration of  Belaieff,  the  publisher,  whose  efforts  on  be- 
half of  modern  music  they  wished  to  acknowledge  con- 
jointly. Borodin,  Rimsky-Korsakoff,  Liadoff  and 
Glazounoff  each  wrote  one  movement  of  a  quartet,  the 
theme  being  founded  on  the  musical  signification  of 
the  components  B  (B  flat),  La  (A),  Eff  (F).  The  second 
string  quartet  in  D,  of  which  the  lovely  nocturne  (the 
third  movement),  has  been  accorded  the  honour,  per- 
haps a  doubtful  one,  of  frequent  isolated  performance, 
also  dates  from  this  year.  Lastly  there  were  two 
movements  of  a  Symphony  in  A  minor  which  was  never 
finished,  but  which  was  later  orchestrated  by 
Glazounoff. 

This  period  of  the  composer's  life  must  have  been 
exceedingly   depressing.     His  wife,  whose  health  did 


BORODIN'S    DEATH.  10/ 

not  permit  of  her  residence  in  St.  Petersburg,  lay  ill  at 
Moscow,  and  her  mother,  who  was  on  terms  of  the 
greatest  affection  with  her  son-in-law,  was  on  her  death- 
bed. Mme.  Borodin  recovered  but  did  not  long  outlive 
her  husband.  Hardly  had  Borodin  returned  to  St. 
Petersburg  and  his  work,  when,  on  February  15,  1887, 
he  died  suddenly,  during  the  height  of  the  gaiety  of  a 
fancy  dress  ball,  from  the  effects  of  a  ruptured 
aneurism. 

Borodin  was  buried  in  the  Nevsky  Monastery,  where 
there  is  now  a  monument  decorated  with  thematic  re- 
ferences to  his  composition  and  chemical  formulas, 
designed  to  serve  as  a  memorial  of  his  dual  career  as 
scientist  and  musician*  Testimony  to  his  social  activi- 
ties took  the  shape  of  a  silver  crown  which  was  placed 
on  his  coffin,  and  which  bore  the  following  inscription  : 
"To  the  founder,  protector  and  defender  of  the  School 
of  Medicine  for  Women,  to  the  supporter  and  friend  of 
the  students.  From  the  women  doctors  qualified 
between  1872  and  188;." 

Soon  after  his  death,  Borodin's  friends  met  at  his 
house  and  it  was  then  decided  that  the  unfinished 
works  should  be  entrusted  for  completion  to  Glazou- 
noff  and  Rimskv-Korsakcff. 


IV. 
MOUSSORGSKY. 

AMONG  the  terms  employed  to  describe  human 
characteristics  there  are  few  which  have  been  so 
distorted  by  misapplication  as  that  of  Puritan. 
In  Britain,  through  its  association  with  a  certain 
primitive  religious  sect,  Puritanism  has  come  to  imply 
an  assemblage  of  an  unlimited  number  of  negative 
virtues  in  a  single  individual.  In  choosing  the  word 
Puritan  to  classify  the  artistic  mission  of  Moussorg- 
sky  it  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  guard  against  any  mis- 
conception which  might  arise  from  its  association  with 
the  customary  sectarian  sense  of  the  word,  and  to 
emphasise  the  fact  that  it  is  being  used,  not  in  its 
usual  relation  to  human  frailties,  but  rather  as  a  term 
which  signifies  a  determined  repudiation  of  the  con- 
ventional in  art — a  repudiation  which  becomes  active 
directly  the  conventional  shows  any  signs  of  domin- 
ating artistic  humanity. 

It  would  not  be  just  to  place  Moussorgsky  in  the 
same  category  as  Gluck  and  Wagner  (both  of  whom 
may  be  regarded  as   Puritans)  because  Moussorgsky, 

108 


MOUSSORGSKY  AS   PURITAN.  log 

while  theorising  much  less,  achieved  a  good  deal  more 
than  these  reformers.  At  the  outset  of  his  artistic 
career  he  made  certain  excellent  reformative  resolves 
and  as  time  went  on  he  found  little  difficulty  in  main- 
taining a  respect  for  them  because  they  were  practical 
as  well  as  prophetic. 

The  constituents  of  Moussorgsky's  Puritanism  em- 
braced an  aversion  from  the  consideration  of  art  as  an 
end  in  itself;  he  considered  that  art  was  so  valuable  a 
means  of  human  intercourse  that  to  treat  it  merely  as  a 
vehicle  for  the  glorification  of  the  beautiful  would 
fall  little  short  of  a  prostitution,  or  at  least  a  perver- 
sion of  its  power  to  effect  human  improvement.  His 
attitude  towards  the  common  conception  of  art,  as 
appealing  primarily  to  the  cultivated,  is  comparable 
with  that  of  Tolstoy.  He  held  that  as  the  proletariat 
formed  the  greater  part  of  the  community,  it  was  the 
proletariat  which  should  have  the  prior  claim  upon  the 
attention  of  the  reformer,  and,  as  in  his  view  the 
artist's  chief  function  was  that  of  achieving  human 
reform  by  means  of  frequent  reference  to  the  truths 
of  life,  he  maintained  that  art's  subject-matter  should 
be  chosen  with  a  view  to  its  capacity  for  effecting  an 
appeal  to  the  many. 

Moussorgsky  is  often  spoken  of  as  a  thorough-going 
realist,  but  it  is  important  to  remember  that  for  him 
realism  was  not  merely  an  indispensable  and  essential 
quality  in  art,  but  that  it  rendered  art  an  instrument 
through  which  the  masses  could  be  brought  to  a  realis- 
ation of  their  moral  and  social  duties.  He  was 
opposed  to  mysticism,  to  the  undue  elevation  of  style, 


no  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

to  the  decadent,  as  a  stultification  of  the  true  purpose 
of  art. 

To  speak  of  Moussorgsky  as  a  Puritan,  as  an  indi- 
vidual with  a  very  strong  sense  of  duty  towards  art, 
as  towards  man,  and  there  to  leave  him  would  be  to 
fall  very  short  of  a  proper  estimate  of  his  worth. 

Music  as  an  art  is  "  growing  up,"  and  in  proportion 
as  it  develops,  the  disposition  to  regard  composition 
as  dependent  upon  education,  increases.  The  history 
of  music  is  punctuated  by  appearances  of  epoch-mak- 
ing figures,  who  have  been  impelled  by  a  fresh  and 
broader  conception  of  the  function  of  music  to  disre- 
gard the  forms  respected  by  their  forbears,  and  to 
enlarge  the  boundaries  of  the  musical  art.  Each  of 
these  prophets  in  turn  has  been  the  means  of  adding 
formulas  to  those  already  existing,  and,  as  music  pro- 
gresses, the  array  of  musical  forms  thus  becomes  more 
and  more  formidable.  In  the  ranks  of  professing 
musicians  there  are  now  very  few  whose  association 
with  music  is  not  due  to  a  combination  of  circum- 
stances. The  innate  latent  human  sympathy  with  the 
tonal  art  becomes  lively  when  brought  into  contact 
with,  or  subjected  to  a  musical  environment,  and  it  is 
to  the  fortuitous  association  of  an  individual  musical 
tendency  and  a  musically  cultivated  section  of  the 
community  which  it  to  be  held  accountable  for  the 
majority  of  instances  in  which  human  beings  attain  to 
an  active  appreciation  of  music.  But  in  the  case  of 
those  whose  appreciation  is  a  phenomenon,  is  purely 
and  completely  spontaneous,  is  the  outcome  of  neither 
environment  nor  heredity,  the  accepted  canons,  tradi- 
tions   and   conventions   of    the   art  cannot   be   treated 


CONFLICT  BETWEEN  MATTER  AND   FORM.  Ill 

with  the  respect  accorded  them  by  those  whose  inspira- 
tion has,  early  in  youth,  been  harnessed,  as  it  were,  to 
the  grammar  with  which,  in  the  process  of  its  evolution, 
the  musical  art  has  been  loaded.  The  pure  genius  of 
music,  in  consequence  of  an  ever-increasing  number  of 
forms,  finds  himself  more  and  more  hampered  by  the 
obligations  of  form  which  musical  society  imposes 
upon  him.  The  creative  genius  whose  material  does 
not  quite  fit  into  the  approved  mould,  for  instance,  of 
either  the  symphony  or  the  freer  symphonic  poem,  will 
seek  such  freedom  as  will  no  longer  interfere  with  the 
expression  of  his  musical  thoughts  and  feelings. 
Sooner  or  later,  however,  the  academic  mind,  by  a 
judicious  adjustment  of  its  rule  and  regulations,  con- 
trives to  find  a  new  classification;  the  latest  heresy  is 
duly  sanctioned  and  pigeon-holed,  and  our  genius, 
without  any  intention  of  so  doing,  has  contributed  one 
more  obstacle  to  those  already  threatening  to  hamper 
expression  in  the  free  spirits  of  posterity. 

The  development  of  the  party  system  in  politics 
proceeds  on  much  the  same  lines.  The  advent  of  an 
original  thinker  into  politics  is  invariably  signalised 
by  an  addition  to  the  existing  classifications.  The 
ordinary  popular  representative  becomes  embroiled  in 
the  complexus  of  the  political  system,  and  his  undue 
respect  for  the  prejudices  of  his  party  quickly  stifles 
the  promptings  of  his  private  conscience.  The  mind 
of  the  original  thinker  is  not  thus  enslaved,  and  his 
policy  is  directed  unswervingly  and  ruthlessly  towards 
the  conduct  of  national  affairs  in  accordance  with  the 
dictates  or  requirements  of  national  and  inter-national 
integrity.     As  in  the  case  of  the  creative  artist,  how- 


112  A   SMORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

c\er,  the  compiler  of  chronicles  eventually  finds  a 
suitable  label  by  which  the  individualistic  or  unat- 
tached policy  can  be  more  or  less  conveniently  classi- 
fied and  the  political  machine  becomes  further  clogged 
with  a  new  set  of  party  obligations. 

The  development  of  Moussorgsky's  musical  faculty 
can  hardly  be  said  to  have  depended  neither  upon 
hercdit}-  nor  environment,  but  one  is  inclined  to  assert 
that  it  was  in  spite  of  them  that  his  unique  capacity 
for  artistic  purification  flourished. 

The  rise  of  the  new  Russian  school  as  a  whole  was 
remarkable  for  a  disregard  of  the  accepted  conven- 
tions of  musical  composition. 

In  this  matter  the  ideal  of  nationalism  is  to  be 
looked  upon  as  a  question  of  minor  importance  com- 
pared wqth  that  worship  of  sincerity  and  legitimacy 
which  figured  so  largely  in  the  aims  of  the  group. 
But  without  depreciating  the  value  of  the  individual 
reformative  efforts  of  the  "Five"  it  can  safely  be 
asseverated  that  it  was  Moussorgsky  who  rendered  the 
greatest  service.  The  nature  of  his  genius  just  hap- 
pened to  be  in  tune  with  the  programme  of  the  group 
— a  programme  dictated  by  pure  idealism — and  he 
alone  faithfully  adhered  to  its  articles.  In  him  the 
nationalistic  principle  was  inspired  as  much  by  his 
anxiety  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the  people,  and 
to  widen  their  mental  horizon  by  means  of  his  art,  as 
by  his  recognition  of  a  need  for  its  emancipation. 
There  was  never  the  slightest  suspicion  of  compromise, 
of  any  obeisance  to  expediency  in  his  artistic  conduct. 
From  earliest  childhood  he  evinced  an  affectionate 
regard    for   submerged   humanity    and    nothing  could 


MOUSSORGSKY   AS    EMPIRICIST.  II3 

have  been  more  natural  than  that  such  an  unbending 
Puritan  should  attribute  an  equal  importance  to  the 
respective  elements  of  legitimacy  and  nationalism  to  be 
discovered  in  the  documentary  articles  of  reform  with 
which  Cui  has  familiarised  us. 

In  the  domain  of  legitimacy,  both  in  regard  to  dra- 
matic music  and  that  of  song,  Moussorgsky  was  again 
peculiarly  fitted  to  carry  these  reformative  precepts 
into  actual  practice.  Convinced  that  artistic  culture, 
or  rather  cultivation,  is  destructive  of  originality  and 
freshness  he  hoped  that  by  remaining  as  far  as  possi- 
ble an  unsophisticated  and  natural  musician  he  would 
minimise  the  risk  of  unconscious  reversion  to  an  im- 
mediately preceding  type.  The,  acceptation  of  the  term 
"conductor's  music"  is  an  acknowledgment  that  con- 
stant association  with  the  creations  of  musicians  past 
and  present  is  destructive  of  originality  and  produc- 
tive of  stereotyped  phrases.  Moussorgsky's  fear  was 
that  by  studying  accepted  forms  he  might  arrive  at  an 
undue  respect  for  them,  and  this  he  considered  inimical 
to  the  interests  of  the  great  work  of  reform  which  it 
was  his  intention  to  undertake.  It  is  a  little  difficult 
to  arrive  at  a  just  estimate  as  to  the  real  extent  to  which 
his  technique  was  limited,  and  to  determine  whether 
the  supposed  "  limitations "  were,  in  fact,  the  product 
of  an  instinctive  feeling  for  the  future  trend  of  music, 
because  so  many  of  his  works  have  been  "revised" 
since  his  death  by  Rimsky-Korsakoff,  a  composer 
whose  mentality  was  not  of  a  kind  likely  to  secure  a 
sufficient  insight  into  the  prophetic  quality  of  the  work 
of  his  friend.  It  is  thus  supposed  by  more  than  one 
authority  that  many  features  which  deserved  to  sur- 

9 


114  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Vive  were,  in  the  process  of  an  over-conscientious  re- 
vision, toned  down  until  their  essential  significance  was 
obscured, 

Moussorgsky's  devotion  to  the  people  is  clearly  ex- 
emplified in  his  two  operas  in  which,  as  has  often  been 
remarked,  the  people  are  the  protagonists  as  far  as  the 
actual  dramatic  content  is  concerned,  and  their  import- 
ance is  musically  signified  by  the  abundant  employ- 
ment of  folk-song  and  folk-lore. 

In  the  realm  of  vocalism  he  made  a  complete  revolu- 
tion. Up  to  his  time  the  vocal  solo  had  been  regarded 
as  a  piece  of  tuneful  music  for  the  voice  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  a  piano.  Moussorgsky  made  no  deliber- 
ate sacrifice  of  melody,  but  he  refused  to  allow  the 
sense  of  the  word  to  be  subordinated  to  considerations 
of  melodic  beauty,  and,  to  an  extent  undreamed  of  by 
Dargomijsky,  he  succeeded  in  making  vocal  music  con- 
form to  the  inflections  of  the  speaking  voice  and  in- 
terpret the  uttered  word.  This  plan  was  also  adopted 
in  his  operas,  in  which  works  he  has  provided  a  power- 
ful instrument  for  the  emancipation  of  the  operatic 
artist.  There  is  absolutely  nothing  in  the  operas  of 
Moussorgsky  which  could  for  a  moment  be  regarded 
as  encouraging  the  glorification  of  the  individual  per- 
former. Everything  makes  for  the  truth  and  beauty 
of  the  whole. 

Moussorgsky's  artistic  creed  and  behaviour  may  be 
summed  up  as  a  single-minded  devotion  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  "art  for  life's  sake,"  and  if  not  by  virtue  of 
his  constancy  to  this  ideal  then  by  the  immense  in- 
fluence which,  through  a  comparatively  limited  output, 
he  has  exerted  in  the  direction  of  the  legitimisation  of 


FOLK-TUNES    AND    FAIRY-TALES.  II5 

the  musicc-dramatic  as  well  as  the  vocal  art,  he  may  be 
considered  to  be  a  figure  unique  in  the  annals  of  music. 
Modeste  Petrovich  Moussorgsky  was  born  at  his 
father's  country  house  at  Karevo,  in  the  Government 
of  Pskoff — a  village  two  hundred  miles  or  so  to  the 
south  of  St.  Petersburg — on  March  28,  1839.  His  father 
belonged  to  the  small  landowner  class  and  possessed 
moderate  means.  The  child  passed  his  first  ten  years 
in  ranging  over  a  countryside  which  is  varied  and 
picturesque,  and  was  thus  in  close  touch  from  the 
beginning  with  the  peasantry — an  experience  which  w^as 
later  to  inspire  the  expression  of  feelings  of  undivided 
sympathy  with  the  land  and  the  people.  His  vivid 
imagination  was  stimulated  during  these  early  days 
by  the  many  fairy-tales  recounted  by  his  nurse,  and 
the  songs  heard  among  the  peasantry  made  such 
an  impression  upon  him  that  he  tried  to  reproduce 
them  on  the  piano  long  before  he  had  any  technical 
knowledge  of  the  instrument.  This  evidence  of  a  love 
for  music  pleased  his  parents  and,  soon  after  it  was 
observed,  his  mother  began  to  give  him  lessons  on  the 
piano.  A  German  lady  was  later  called  in  to  under- 
take his  elementary  musical  education,  and  little 
Modeste  showed  very  soon  a  decided  talent  for  the 
piano  which  in  later  years  developed  to  the  extent  of 
earning  for  him  quite  a  reputation.  In  his  autobio- 
graphy Mcussorgsky  records  that  at  the  age  of  seven 
he  was  already  able  to  render  the  smaller  pieces  of- 
Liszt,  and  two  years  later,  he  played  a  concerto  by 
Field  at  a  party  given  by  his  parents.  His  attention 
to  music  was  not  confined  to  the  interpretative,  for  he 
often  went  to  the  piano  and  improvised  musical  set- 


Il6  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

tings  for  the  fairy-tales  heard  from  his  beloved 
nurse. 

His  father,  rejoicing  at  these  manifestations  of  a 
truly  musical  nature,  decided  to  provide  a  means  of 
developing  the  boy's  talent,  and  in  1 849,  when  Modeste 
■and  his  brother  Philaret  were  taken  to  St.  Petersburg, 
an  opportunity  naturally  presented  itself.  Tt  mi.ist  not 
be  supposed,  however,  that  the  father  had  any  idea 
that  the  boy  would  become  a  musician  by  vocation,  for 
no  such  notion  could  have  entered  his  head.  Modeste 
was  intended  for  the  army,  and  on  his  arrival  in  St. 
Petersburg,  was  entered  at  the  Military  Cadets'  School. 
His  parents  fully  realised  the  importance  of  music  in 
the  scheme  of  education,  and  engaged  a  well-known 
piano  teacher,  Herke,  to  assist  the  youth  in  his  musical 
studies.  Progress  was  rapid,  and  at  twelve  years  of 
age  he  played  at  a  private  concert  with  such  success 
that  his  teacher,  a  man  of  austere  character,  was  over- 
joyed and  presented  him,  as  a  tribute,  with  a  copy  of 
a  Beethoven  sonata.  At  this  time  Moussorgsky  learned 
a  good  deal  about  the  old  Greek  liturgical  chants 
from  a  priest,  Kroupsky  by  name,  who  was  en- 
trusted with  his  religious  instruction.  This  know- 
ledge, as  we  shall  see,  was  to  become  exceedingly  use- 
ful to  him. 

In  1852  he  p'lssed  into  the  school  for  ensigns  of  the 
Guard.  His  music  lessons  were  not  interrupted  by 
this  change,  and  in  the  same  year  he  again  delighted 
Herke  by  composing  an  "  Ensigns'  Polka,"  which  he 
dedicated  to  his  schoolfellows.  This  little  piece  was 
published  in  deference  to  his  master's  wish. 

The  death  of  his  father,  in   1853,  does  not  seem  to 


MOUSSORGSKY  AS   GLARDSMAN.  I17 

have  brought  about  any  alteration  in  the  manner  of 
Moussorgsky's  hfe.  He  continued  his  military  studies 
and  his  general  education,  became  proficient  in  Ger- 
man and  Latin  and  evinced  a  particular  fondness  for 
history  and  philosophical  literature.  He  took  weekly 
music  lessons  from  Herke. 

A  youth  of  very  amiable  character,  he  formed  a 
good  many  friendships.  One  of  his  first  companions 
was  Asanchevsky,  who  was  a  year  his  senior.  This 
choice  is  sufficiently  significant,  for  Asanchevsky  in 
later  life  became  director  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Con- 
servatorium. 

After  leaving  the  cadets'  school  and  entering  the 
Preobajensky  regiment,  to  which  he  was  gazetted  in 
1856,  he  met  several  young  men  of  about  his  own  age 
and  tastes,  and  to  one  of  these,  Obolensky,  he  dedi- 
cated a  "souvenir  of  childhood"  for  piano.  This  was 
never  published.  His  varied  accomplishments — for  in 
addition  to  his  pianistic  talent  and  his  awakening 
faculty  of  composition,  he  had  a  very  pleasant  bari- 
tone voice— soon  secured  for  him  a  prominent  position 
in  musical  society.  That  he  had  begun  to  take  him- 
self seriously  is  plain  from  the  fact  that  during  his 
fiirst  year  of  military  service,  he  set  to  work  upon  an 
opera,  the  text  of  which,  derived  from  Hugo's  "Han 
d'lslande,"  he  himself  undertook.  As  he  was  barely 
seventeen  years  old,  his  failure  to  get  beyond  the 
libretto  of  this  work  could  hardly  have  been  regarded 
as  significant  of  musical  impotence. 

In  the  autumn  of  1856,  Moussorgsky  first  met  Boro- 
din, who  was  five  years  older.  Borodin  had  already 
begun    some    more    or    less    serious    musical    studies, 


Il8  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

and,  as  will  be  remembered,  he  was  just  then  some- 
what sympathetically  inclined  towards  the  German 
musical  style.  Allusion  has  already  been  made  to 
this  auspicious  meeting,  but  Borodin's  account  of  the 
impression  made  upon  him  by  his  future  colleague 
intensifies  the  interest  of  the  occurrence  in  no  small 
measure.  Shortly  after  Moussorgsky's  death,  Borodin 
devoted  some  newspaper  articles  to  the  work  of  his 
deceased  friend  and  herein  occurs  the  following  de- 
scription : 

"  I  met  Moussorgsky  for  the  first  time  in  the  autumn 
of  1856.  I  had  just  been  appointed  army  surgeon. 
Moussorgsky  was  an  officer  in  the  Preobajensky  regi- 
ment. He  was  then  seventeen.  Our  meeting  took 
place  at  the  hospital  in  which  we  were  both  serving; 
we  met  in  a  common  room,  which  we  both  found 
equally  dull.  Both  of  us  felt  the  same  need  for  ex- 
pansion, and  we  were  not  long  in  fraternising.  The 
same  evening  we  had  an  invitation  to  the  house  of  the 
principal  medical  officer.  Monsieur  Popoff  had  a  mar- 
riageable daughter  and  frequently  invited  the  doctors 
and  officers  on  duty.  Moussorgsky  was  what  is  popu- 
larly termed  a  smart  officer,  elegant  in  dress  and  in 
person;  small  feet,  hair  well  trimmed,  nails  correct, 
aristocratic  hands,  distinguished  in  carriage  and  choice 
in  conversation ;  he  spoke  with  some  affectation  and 
sprinkled  his  discourse  with  French  phrases  a  trifle 
pretentiously.  In  all  this  there  was  a  touch  of  fatuity, 
but  it  was  very  slight  and  was  tempered  by  a  really 
superior  education.  He  was  a  favourite  with  the 
ladies,  and  would  sit  down  to  the  piano  and  play  with 
grace  and  expression   fragments   from  '  Trcvatore '   or 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF   DARGOMIJSKY.  1 1^ 

*  Traviata,'  enchanted  to  hear  his  feminine  audience 
murmur  his  praises  in  chorus. 

"  I  met  Moussorgsky  three  or  four  times  at  Popoff's, 
and  in  the  common  room  of  the  hospital.  Then  I  lost 
sight  of  him.  Popoff  resigned  and  there  were  no  more 
evening  gathernigs." 

Their  next  meeting  did  not  take  place  until  three 
years  later. 

There  is  nothing  in  this  narrative  which  would  lead 
anyone  to  suppose  that  Moussorgsky's  subsequent  musi- 
cal, poetic  and  psychological  development  might  at 
this  time  have  been  anticipated  by  any  of  his  ac- 
quaintances. Nevertheless,  the  evidence  of  Stassoff 
shows  that  his  emancipation  had  already  begun  and 
that  he  was  beginning  to  recognise  the  purposelessness 
of  much  Italian  music.  This,  in  view  of  Borodin's 
impression,  is  a  somewhat  necessary  explanation  of 
his  readiness  to  listen  when,  in  the  following  winter 
his  acquaintance  with  Dargcmijsky  gave  him  an  op- 
portunity of  hearing  the  views  of  that  composer.  As 
their  friendship  ripened,  Moussorgsky's  sympathy  with 
the  ideals  of  Dargomijsky  underwent  a  marked  ex- 
pansion, and  the  seed  of  the  life-work  of  the  composer 
of  "Boris  Godounoff"  may  be  said  to  have  been  sown 
when  Dargomijsky's  dual  desire  for  legitimacy  in  the 
relation  of  song  to  speech  and  for  a  general  sincerity 
in  the  realm  of  musical  creation  was  first  communi- 
cated to  him. 

Prior  to  these  musical  confabulations,  Moussorg- 
sky's knowledge  of  native  works  had  been  of  the 
slightest,  but  when,  towards  the  end  of  1857,  his  meet- 
ing  with   Cui  led   to   an   acquaintanceship   both   with 


120  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Balakireff  and  Stassoff,  he  began  to  take  the  liveliest 
interest  in  the  musical  products  of  his  country,  and 
soon  perceived  that  the  incipient  socialistic  tendency 
of  which  he  had  lately  become  conscious  could  be  pro- 
vided with  a  medium  of  expression  in  a  novel  and 
freer  form  of  music.  An  examination  of  the  works  of 
Glinka  strengthened  his  determination  to  endow  his 
art  with  a  truly  national  basis,  while  those  of  Dar- 
gomijsky  led  him  to  see  that  the  conventional  musical 
patterns  were  negligible  and  could  be  discarded  by  a 
composer  in  whom  conviction  and  inspiration  were 
strong  and  constant.  Under  the  guidance  of  Bala- 
kireff, who  had  assumed  an  unofficial  directorship  in 
relation  to  the  little  coterie,  he  made  an  analytical 
survey  of  the  best  works  of  the  classical  and  roman- 
tic composers,  playing  them  over  by  means  of  four- 
handed  arrangements  and  gaining  from  Balakireff's 
comments  an  intelligent  insight  into  their  qualities  of 
form  and  style. 

This  examination  of  masterpieces  kindled  Mous- 
sorgsky's  lambent  creative  flame  and  he  composed  a 
symphonic  first  movement  (of  which  the  manuscript 
was  lost)  an  orchestral  Scherzo  in  B  minor  which  came 
to  be  considered  worthy  of  performance  in  i860  at  the 
Russian  Musical  Society's  concert,  when  it  was  con- 
ducted by  Rubinstein,  another  Scherzo  in  C  sharp,  a 
setting  of  Sophocles's  "  CEdipus  Rex,"  of  which  one  of 
the  choruses  was  given  in  1861  under  the  direction  of 
Constantine  Liadoff  (the  father  of  Anatole  Liadoff) 
and  some  songs  which  were  never  published. 

Mousscrgsky's  character  had  not  at  this  date  under- 
gone that  radical  metastasis  by  which  it  was  eventu- 


RESIGNATION.  1:21 

ally  transformed.  At  some  of  the  informal  musical 
parties  given  by  Cui  he  appears  to  have  been  in  cheer- 
ful enough  a  mood,  exercising  a  talent  as  comedian, 
reciting  humorous  pieces  by  standard  authors,  and  in 
one  notable  instance  using  his  baritone  voice  in  the 
interpretation  of  the  principal  role  in  Cui's  comic 
opera,  "  The  Mandarin's  Son,"  which  was  being  given 
a  private  hearing. 

About  this  time  ]\Ioussorgsky  began  to  grudge  the 
time  spent  on  his  military  duties.  He  had  no  great 
taste  for  them  and  he  had  already  a  half-formed  inten- 
tion of  resigning  his  commission.  It  so  happened  that 
in  1859  he  found  himself  transferred  to  a  garrison 
outside,  though  not  far  from  St.  Petersburg.  He  fore- 
saw that  the  frequent  meetings  with  his  mother,  to 
whom  he  was  very  much  attached,  his  family  and  his 
friends,  would  no  longer  be  possible,  and  that  his 
musical  studies  would  be  seriously  menaced.  Mous- 
sorgsky  decided  therefore  to  leave  the  army.  His 
friends,  fully  alive  to  the  importance  of  a  staple  oc- 
cupation, tried  their  hardest  to  induce  him  to  stick  to 
soldiering,  even  if  only  as  a  source  of  income,  but  with- 
out avail. 

In  the  summer  following  his  resignation,  he  was 
unable,  however,  to  do  any  work,  being  overtaken  by  a 
serious  affection  of  the  nerves,  which  entailed  under- 
going a  cure.  This  was  happily  effectual  and  in  the 
autumn  he  was  able  to  apply  himself  to  music,  undis- 
turbed by  other  considerations.  He  composed  a  little 
scherzo  for  piano,  published  some  years  later,  and  an 
"Impromptu"  inspired  by  a  popular  "sex-problem" 
novel  of  the  period. 


122  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

There  is  a  hint  in  .the  description  given  of  Mous- 
sorgsky  by  Borodin,  who  then  met  him  for  the  second 
time,  that  the  degeneration,  which  later  was  to  become 
so  marked,  had  already  set  in.  "  I  met  him  once  more," 
wrote  Borodin,  "  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  assistant 
professors  of  the  academy,  M.  Ivanovsky,  doctor  to 
the  School  of  Artillery.  Moussorgsky  had  then  left 
the  army. 

'*  He  was  no  longer  the  handsome  youth  that  I  had 
known  at  Popoff's;  he  had  grown  stout  and  lost  his 
fine  bearing,  but  he  was  as  careful  as  ever  of  his  per- 
sonal appearance.  His  habits  were  just  the  same  and 
his  foppishness  had  grown  if  anything  a  degree  more 
marked.  On  being  introduced  we  had  no  difficulty  in 
recognising  each  other. 

"  Moussorgsky  assured  me  that  he  had  only  resigned 
in  order  to  devote  himself  to  music.  It  was  our  chief 
topic  of  conversation.  I  was  at  that  time  enthusiastic 
over  Mendelssohn;  Schumann  was  unknown  to  me. 
Moussorgsky  was  already  a  frequent  visitor  to  Bala- 
kireff's,  and  his  head  was  filled  with  a  number  of  new 
works  of  which  I  had  no  idea. 

"Ivanovsky  asked  us  to  play  Mendelssohn's  A  minor 
Symphony  as  a  duet.  Moussorgsky  at  first  made  some 
objections  and  begged  to  be  excused  the  andante, 
which,  he  said,  was  not  symphonic,  and  rather  re- 
sembled one  of  the  'Songs  without  Words'  orches- 
trated. He  played  the  first  movement  and  the  scherzo. 
Moussorgsky  afterwards  began  to  speak  with  enthu- 
siasm of  Schumann's  symphonies.  He  played  frag- 
ments of  the  one  in  E  flat  major.  Suddenly  he  broke 
off,  saying:   'Now  for  the  mathematics!' 


LACK  OF   FUNDS.  I23 

"All  this  was  quite  new  to  me  and  captivated  me 
from  the  first.  Seeing  that  it  took  my  fancy,  he 
played  other  new  works,  and  I  soon  learned  that  he 
was  a  composer  himself,  which  increased  the  interest 
his  personality  had  awakened  in  me.  He  then  played 
a  scherzo  of  his  own,  and  on  reaching  the  trio,  he 
whispered  to  me:  'This  is  quite  oriental!'  I  was  as- 
tonished at  these  musical  forms  which  were  quite  novel 
to  me.  I  cannot  say  they  pleased  me  at  first.  I 
was  bewildered,  but  by  dint  of  listening  I  soon  began 
to  appreciate  them  and  find  in  them  a  certain 
charm.  I  must  confess  that  when  Moussorgsky  had 
told  me  of  his  intention  to  devote  himself  seriously  to 
music,  I  took  this  declaration  at  first  for  a  bit  of  brag- 
gadocio, and  laughed  in  my  sleeve.  But  after  hearing 
his  scherzo,  I  asked  myself :  '  Can  I  believe  it,  or 
not?'" 

From  this  time  on,  Moussorgsky,  having  sacrificed 
the  emolument  derived  from  his  commission,  w^as  never 
free  from  financial  embarrassments,  and,  to  add  to  his 
troubles,  his  family  was  broken  up  by  dissension — his 
brother  married,  and  his  mother  withdrew  to  her  coun- 
try property.  Moussorgsky  divided  his  time  between 
town  and  country,  and  seems  to  have  been  unable  to 
settle  down  for  any  prolonged  period.  His  intentions 
in  respect  of  an  assiduous  devotion  to  composition  were 
not  being  realised,  and  the  works  which  date  from  this 
period  are  few,  and  to  judge  from  the  surviving  ex- 
ample, "  King  Saul "  (to  an  original  text  founded  on 
Byron)  poor  in  quality. 

Moussorgsky 's  early  instrumental  compositions  do 
not   foreshadow   the   marked   individuality  of   expres- 


124  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN  AtUSlC. 

sion  which  is  the  outstanding  feature  of  his  later  works. 
It  was  not  until  he  renewed  the  acquaintance,  formed 
in  childhood,  with  the  peasantry,  that  he  began  to 
evolve  a  mode  of  expression  quite  peculiar  to  him- 
self. In  a  letter  written  to  Cui  in  1863  he  mentions 
that  residence  in  the  country  is  beginning  to  take  effect 
upon  his  artistic  sensibilities.  Arrived  at  manhood, 
he  was  beginning  to  acquire  a  perception  of  true  values, 
and  his  knowledge  of  the  peasants'  nature  drove  him 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  voice  of  the  people  could 
alone  be  reckoned  upon  for  a  faithful  artistic  expres- 
sion of  nationality. 

This  realised,  he  finally  turned  his  back  on  all  the 
conventions  of  the  social  system,  and  determined  on 
living  a  life  which  was  in  accord  with  the  actually 
prevailing  social  conditions.  Of  the  somewhat  fop- 
pish and  affected  guardsman  there  soon  remained  no 
semblance. 

On  returnmg  to  St.  Petersburg  Moussorgsky  joined 
with  five  friends  in  forming  an  intellectual  coterie. 
Each  of  them  had  a  separate  room,  and  the  evenings 
were  spent  in  discussing  matters  of  artistic  moment 
and  of  social  importance.  Moussorgsky  began  just 
now  to  feel  the  pinch  of  poverty,  and  in  order  to  earn 
a  little  more  he  was  obliged  to  undertake  translation 
work.  Later  he  took  a  minor  post  in  a  governmental 
department. 

During  his  sojourn  in  this  combined  household,  he 
began  to  occupy  himself  with  a  work  which,  although 
it  was  not  destined  to  be  completed,  became  the  source 
of  several  numbers  subsequently  embodied  in  the  crea- 
tions of  his  maturity.     In   1863  he  resolved  to  begin 


EARLY    SONGS.  1 25 

an  opera  upon  the  subject  of  Flaubert's  "Salammbo," 
with  an  original  libretto.  Here  already  he  began  to 
adopt  the  plan  of  attaching  a  supreme  importance 
to  the  People  in  his  dramatic  scheme,  and  the  scenes 
in  which  the  principal  characters  appeared  were  of 
a  nature  rendering  them  less  likely  to  be  invested  with 
the  usual  paramount  interest.  In  the  construction  of 
"Salammbo"  there  was  also  evidence  of  a  preoccu- 
pation with  the  niceties  of  scenic  legitimacy.  He  was 
particularly  scrupulous  in  his  endeavours  faithfully  to 
reproduce  the  characteristics  of  scenery  and  costume 
to  be  found  in  Flaubert's  work.  After  a  good  deal 
of  work  upon  "  Salammbo,"  of  which  he  completed 
one  scene  of  the  second  act  and  one  of  both  the  third 
and  fourth  acts,  Moussorgsky  put  the  work  to  one  side, 
and  net  until  a  long  time  after  did  he  return  to  it  for 
the  purpose  of  drawing  therefrom  various  numbers, 
which  were  transposed  for  use  in  his  later  and  better 
known  works. 

Soon  after,  in  1864,  Moussorgsky  turned  his  attention 
to  the  voice.  First  came  "  Night,"  already  foreshadow- 
ing the  later  harmonic  freedom.  This  was  followed 
by  "  Kallistrate,"  to  words  of  Nekrassoff,  a  song  in 
which  he  fully  reveals  his  sympathy  with  the  soil. 

In  the  following  year  the  death  of  his  mother  stirred 
up  strong  memories  of  his  childhood  and  he  then 
wrote  a  song  which  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  one  of 
his  finest  and  most  characteristic  works  of  this  class. 
The  "  Peasant's  Cradle-Song "  is  set  to  a  text  taken 
from  Ostrovsky's  drama,  "  Voyevoda."  Its  music 
follows  with  extraordinary  fidelity  the  sentiment  of 
the  words,  which  voice  the  complaint  of  the  peasantry 


126  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

against  the  conditions  of  their  labour.  He  also 
composed  about  this  time  two  small  "  Reminiscences 
of  Childhood "  for  the  piano,  the  first,  "  Nurse  and 
I,"  the  second,  "  Nurse  shuts  me  up  in  a  Dark  Cup- 
board," both  of  which,  like  the  "  Peasant's  Cradle- 
song,"  were  dedicated  to  his  dead  mother.  Although 
these  were  never  published,  they  are  worthy  of  men- 
tion as  attempts  to  realise  the  occurrences  of  life  in 
art  music. 

Moussorgsky  was  now  in  constant  association  with 
his  colleagues  of  the  "band,"  but  although  he  was  re- 
ceiving a  sort  of  instruction  from  Balakireff,  it  was 
rather  toward  Dargomijsky  that  he  turned  for  a  model, 
and  it  was  Moussorgsky  alone  who  accepted  in  their  en- 
tirety the  precepts  of  the  composer  of  "  The  Stone  Guest." 

Towards  the  middle  of  1865  Moussorgsky  was  once 
more  attacked  by  the  nervous  affection  from  which  he 
had  suffered  a  few  years  earlier.  He  was  obliged  to 
relinquish  his  post  and  to  leave  his  friends.  At  his 
brother's  suggestion  he  went  again  to  live  in  the  coun- 
try where  his  health  soon  took  a  turn  for  the  better. 

An  episode  which  occurred  during  this  period  of 
rustication  inspired  one  of  Moussorgsky's  most  re- 
markable essays  in  realism.  Through  his  open  window 
he  overheard,  one  day,  the  piteous  accents  of  a  half- 
witted villager  who  was  addressing  himself  vehem- 
ently, in  amorous  supplication,  to  the  village  beauty. 
Moussorgsky,  deeply  impressed  with  the  pathos  of  this 
little  scene,  embodied  it  in  a  song  reproducing  its 
tragedy  with  a  realism  which  serves  to  place 
"Savishna"  in  a  category  of  its  own  in  the  sphere  of 
vocal  music. 


"LA   NUIT    SUR   LE   MONT   CHAUVE."  12/ 

The  year  1866  was  comparatively  uneventful. 
Moussorgsky  spent  part  of  his  time  at  Minkino,  his 
brother's  home,  but  his  friendship  with  Rimsky-Korsa- 
koff,  which  was  to  become  so  firm,  was  cemented  at  this 
time  by  a  frequent  exchange  of  musical  ideas,  each  in 
turn  seating  himself  at  the  piano  whilst  the  other  lis- 
tened. Moussorgsky  was  trying  to  improve  his  orchestral 
technique  and  by  the  end  of  the  year  he  had  completed 
the  greater  part  of  a  work  for  chorus  and  orchestra, 
"The  Destruction  of  Sennacherib,"  which  was  pro- 
duced in  the  following  year  by  Balakireff  at  a  free 
school  concert.  The  result  of  his  efforts  towards  im- 
provement seems  to  have  satisfied  him.  In  1867,  in 
addition  to  the  orchestration  of  an  Intermezzo,  written 
six  years  earlier  for  the  piano  and  dedicated  to 
Borodin,  he  wrote  one  of  his  most  popular  works, 
"  Night  on  the  Bare  Mountain,"  for  orchestra.  This 
work  is  not  exactly  to  be  regarded  as  belonging  to 
this  period,  because  its  musical  elements  are  largely 
derived  from  the  last  scene  of  the  third  act  of  the 
abandoned  "  Salammbo."  It  was,  moreover,  several 
times  revised  and  later  employed  in  a  dramatic  work, 
of  which  more  hereafter. 

"  Night  on  the  Bare  Mountain  "  has  a  definite  "  pro- 
gramme "  which  appears  in  its  score.  It  describes  the 
unholy  revels  of  a  witches'  sabbath  on  a  mountain 
range  in  the  province  of  Kief.  The  spirits  of  dark- 
ness are  joined  in  their  festivities  by  Tchernobog.  At 
a  moment  when  the  orgies  are  at  their  height  the  dis- 
tant sound  of  a  village  church  bell  is  heard,  and  at 
this  hint  of  dawn  the  spirits  disperse.  A  character- 
istic device  is  herein  employed.     Moussorgsky  supple- 


128  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

ments  the  stroke  on  the  gong  with  overtones  played  by 
wind  instruments.  This  is  to  be  noted  in  other  of  the 
composer's  uses  of  the  bell. 

During  the  years  1866  and  1867  Moussorgsky  wrote 
some  songs  which  later  attracted  a  good  deal  of  atten- 
tion on  their  own  account,  apart,  that  is  to  say,  from 
public  interest  in  the  composer's  personality :  "  The 
Seminarist,"  a  song  which  enters  the  region  of  satire 
with  its  portrayal  of  the  amorous  preoccupations  of  a 
theological  student,  was  banned  by  the  censor  and  was 
published  in  consequence  at  Leipzig;  "The  Classicist," 
a  satirical  portrait  of  Famyntsin,  a  contemporary  re- 
actionary critic;  "Near  the  Don,"  to  the  text  of  Kolt- 
soff,  a  charming  picture  of  a  day-dreaming  village 
girl ;  "  The  Magpie "  (Pushkin),  a  highly  imaginative 
little  work;  "The  Ragamuffin,"  in  which  the  "cheek" 
of  a  guttersnipe  deriding  the  person  of  an  old  woman, 
is  wonderfully  suggested  by  means  of  rhythmic  figures, 
as  also  the  well-merited  drubbing  he  receives  at  her 
hands,  and  the  "  Hopak,"  derived  from  Mey's  adapta- 
tion of  the  words  of  Shevchenko  (a  prophet  of  the 
emancipation  of  serfs),  an  alternating  and  semi-savage 
recital  of  the  sentiments  of  love  and  hate. 

Most  of  the  year  1868  w^as  spent  in  the  country  in 
circumstances  which  appear  to  have  tended  to  excite 
the  composer's  creative  faculty,  for  this  period  was  a 
particularly  fruitful  one.  Encouraged  by  suggestions 
from  Dargomijsky  and  Cui,  that  he  should  undertake 
an  opera,  and  impressed  by  Gogol's  comedy,  "  Mar- 
riage," he  resolved  to  set  the  play,  exactly  as  it  stood, 
to  music,  without  the  customary  adaptation.  This  pro- 
ceeding was  the  more  daring  because  Gogol's  comedy 


"MARRIAGE.'*  129 

is  written  in  prose.  Only  one  act  of  "Marriage"  was 
completed,  although  some  further  sketches  were  made, 
but  it  IS  clear  from  his  letters  that  Moussorgsky  con- 
sidered this  work  to  represent  himself  at  his  best,  and 
from  the  details  of  its  form  and  content  given  by  ]\I. 
Calvocoressi  in  his  comprehensive  monograph  it  is  not 
difficult  to  perceive  that  "  Marriage  "  came  nearest,  of 
all  the  dramatic  works  of  the  "  Five,"  to  the  ideal  of 
Dargomijsky.  One  characteristic  of  "  Marriage  "  which 
causes  it  to  stand  out  is  that  it  was  a  representation 
of  contemporary  life;  this  was  the  first  instance  of 
the  adoption  by  any  composer  of  a  subject  dealing 
with  the  manners  and  customs  of  his  own  day — a  plan 
which  has  since  commended  itself  to  but  few,  although 
the  examples  provided  by  Charpentier  and  Puccini 
have  given  proof  enough  that  the  proceeding  is  not  al- 
together incompatible  with  musico-dramatic  success. 

The  humour  of  Gogol's  comedy  was  faithfully  re- 
produced in  the  music.  There  were  but  four  charac- 
ters in  the  piece :  Podkolessin,  a  booby  anxious  to  con- 
tract a  matrimonial  alliance;  his  servant,  Stepan,  who 
lives  in  a  perpetual  state  of  exasperation  at  the  stupid- 
ity of  his  master;  Thecla,  a  bland  and  loquacious 
matchmaker;  and  Kotchkareff,  a  wiseacre.  In  devising 
the  musical  characterisation  of  these  protagonists, 
Moussorgsky  resolved  to  make  use  of  every  conceiv- 
able means  of  transposing  them  from  their  original 
sphere  of  comedy  proper  to  that  of  comic  music-drama 
without  loss  of  atmosphere,  and  in  the  execution  of 
this  plan  he  availed  himself  of  such  expedients  as  a 
melodic  imitation  of  the  spoken  word  and  an  inces- 
sant change  of  rhythm,  by  which  latter  he  hoped  to 
effect  a  musical  reproduction  of  the  exquisite  humour 

10 


130  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSlC. 

of  the  dialogue  in  the  spoken  version.  Xowhere,  it 
seems,  was  the  task  beyond  him. 

Moussorgsky  returned  to  St.  Petersburg  in  the 
autumn  and  this  completed  first  act  of  "  Marriage"  was 
performed  at  some  of  the  meetings  of  his  little  circle, 
quite  informally,  of  course.  The  composer  played  the 
part  of  the  would-be  Benedict,  and  Dargomijsky 
undertook  Ktochkareff.  i\t  the  piano  was  the  lady  who 
became  the  wife  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff. 

Moussorgsky  found  time  during  1868,  apart  from 
his  work  on  "  Marriage,"  to  compose  some  of  his  most 
notable  songs.  "  The  Orphan  "  is  a  wonderful  reflec- 
tion of  the  monotonous  chant  of  a  street  beggar.  The 
text,  from  the  composer's  own  pen,  is  so  faithfully 
served  that  its  musical  setting  is  in  reality  nothing- 
more  than  a  medium  for  enhancing  the  emotional  sig- 
nificance of  the  words,  and  makes  no  appeal  on  its 
own  account,  when  separated,  that  is  to  say,  from  the 
text.  Its  conclusion — the  despair  of  the  orphan,  left 
standing  b}'  the  passer-by  to  whom  he  has  been  ad- 
dressing his  plaintive  recital — is  of  a  poignancy  which 
is  intensified  by  the  composer's  novel  and  entirely  con- 
vincing treatment.  For  "  Eremoushka's  Cradle-song," 
his  next,  he  again  wrote  the  words.  To  the  encourage- 
ment of  Dargomijsky,  who  recognised  the  amazing 
truthfulness  of  ^Nloussorgsky's  picture  of  child-life  in 
the  song  called  '*  Nurse,  tell  me  a  Tale,"  written  at  this 
time  and  dedicated  to  the  composer  of  "  The  Stone 
Guest,"  is  owed  that  remarkable  series,  "  The  Nursery," 
of  which  there  will  be  occasion  to  speak  further  on. 
"  A  Child's  Song "  (Mey)  was  publislied  separately 
in  1871. 


V. 

"BORIS   GODOUNOFF." 

IN  the  autumn  of  1868,  on  his  return  from  Minkino, 
Moussorgsky  established  himself  in  the  house  of 
a  musical  family  called  Opochinin,  friends  of  Dar- 
gomijsky.  He  lived  with  them  for  two  years.  He  was 
now  dependent  on  a  minor  post  in  the  ^linistry  of 
the  Interior,  an  occupation  leaving  huii  a  fair  amount 
of  leisure,  and  he  found  himself  in  circumstances 
which  were  very  favourable  to  the  elaboration  of  his 
creative  designs.  He  was  once  more  in  the  regular 
enjoyment  of  the  society  of  his  friends  and  came  again 
into  touch  with  Nikolsky,  whom  he  had  met  some  time 
before  at  the  house  of  Mme.  Shestakoff,  the  sister  of 
Glinka.  It  was  Nikolsky's  idea  of  seeking,  in  Push- 
kin's "  Boris  Godounoff,"  the  basis  of  a  national  music- 
drama  which  so  fascinated  Moussorgsky  that  he  re- 
solved there  and  then  to  shelve  "  Marriage,"  and  ap- 
plied himself  in  September  to  the  new  work.  After 
two  months  of  feverish  activity,  he  finished  the  first 
act,  and  the  whole  of  the  first  version  of  "  Boris 
Godounoff"  was  completed  in  a  year.  The  orchestra- 
tion was  carried  out  in  the  winter  of  1869-70.     Before 

131 


132  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

his  death,  in  1869,  Dargomijsky  heard  the  first  act  and 
a  further  scene  at  one  of  the  occasional  informal  meet- 
ings of  the  circle.  In  these  fragmentary  performances 
Moussorgsky  himself  rendered  the  vocal  parts,  and 
Alexandra  Pourgold,  the  future  sister-in-law  of 
Rimsky-Korsakoff,  reproduced  the  orchestral  matter 
at  the  piano.  Dargomijsky,  it  is  said,  at  once  realised 
that  on  the  shoulders  of  ^loussorgsky  his  own  mantle 
would  fall. 

The  shape  in  which  "  Boris  Godounoff "  is  now 
known  differs  substantially  from  this  early  version. 
jMoussorgsky's  friends  were  the  first  to  point  out  cer- 
tain weaknesses,  one  of  them  being  an  absence  of 
feminine  interest.  The  composer  was  not  at  all  in- 
clined to  admit  the  justice  of  their  criticisms  until,  in 
the  autumn  of  1870,  the  work  was  refused  by  the 
directorate  of  the  Opera,  and  Moussorgsky  then  set 
himself  to  revise  and  to  make  certain  additions  to  the 
work,  a  labour  which  occupied  him  for  the  whole  of 
i8;i. 

Moussorgsky  had  now  left  the  Opochinins  and  was 
sharing  quarters  with  Rimsky-Korsakoff — also  busy 
composing. 

"  Boris  Godounoff "  was  again  submitted  to  the 
judgment  of  friends  in  the  following  winter,  the  per- 
formances being  of  the  same  private  nature  as  before. 
Not  long  after,  in  February,  1873,  a  public  representa- 
tion of  certain  portions  was  given  at  the  Maryinsky 
Theatre,  St.  Petersburg,  on  the  occasion  of  the  benefit 
of  Kondratieff,  who  was  officially  connected  with  the 
house.  These  fragments  were  received  with  warm  ap- 
proval, and  a  few  months  later  the  whole  work  was 
put  into  rehearsal. 


HISTORICAL    SUBSTANCE   OF   "BORIS."  1 33 

"  Boris  Godounoff "  was  produced  on  January  24, 
1874.  Certain  versions  of  its  story  have  been  used  by 
various  dramatists,  including  Schiller,  but  that  of  Push- 
kin is  the  best  known,  and  it  is  from  the  latter  source 
that  Moussorgsky  derived  the  "  book  "  of  his  national 
music-drama,  making  certain  additions  from  the  chron- 
icles of  the  great  historian,  Karamzin,  which  had 
already  been  carefully  studied  by  Pushkin  himself 
before  designing  his  famous  poem. 

The  substance  of  the  story  is  founded  on  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  series  of  events  in  the  history  of  the 
Russian  empire.  The  diabolical  behaviour  of  Ivan  the 
Terrible  had  resulted  in  a  thorough  subjection  of  all 
classes  in  Russia  and  a  consequent  weakening  of  char- 
acter in  his  subjects.  There  was  one,  however,  whose 
spirit  had  not  been  cowed.  This  was  Boris  Godounoff, 
who  was  not  only  attached  to  Ivan's  court,  but  was  con- 
nected with  the  royal  circle  by  other  ties;  he  himself 
married  a  member  of  the  Czar's  entourage,  and  his 
sister  became  the  wife  of  Feodor,  Ivan's  son.  Feodor 
was  the  rightful  heir  to  Ivan,  but  as  he  was  feeble- 
minded, and  as  his  half-brother,  Dmitri,  was  but  an 
infant,  Godounoff  was  made  regent.  When  it  became 
certain  that  the  half-witted  Feodor  could  never  be 
counted  upon  to  govern,  the  fitness  of  Boris  Godounoff 
as  occupant  of  the  throne  was  discussed. 

It  is  supposed  that  Godounoff,  who  was  exceedingly 
ambitious,  became  obsessed  by  his  desire  for  supreme 
power,  and  that  this  was  what  drove  him  to  secure  the 
removal  of  the  little  Dmitri.  The  child  was  found 
murdered  in  the  church  at  Ouglich  in  1581.  It  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  certain  that  Godounoff  actually 


134  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

instigated  the  crime,  but  this  has  been  assumed  by  the 
dramatist  and  laid  largely  under  contribution  for  the 
psychological  material  it  affords.  He  was  invited  to 
ascend  the  throne,  and  after  a  period  of  doubt,  the 
genuineness  of  which  has  been  questioned,  he  acceded 
to  the  request  of  the  people.  Boris's  reign  was  that 
of  a  reformer,  but  it  was  clouded  by  his  own  remorse 
for  the  act  which  secured  him  the  throne  and  by  the 
periodic  appearances  of  pretenders,  one  of  whom  ob- 
tained a  considerable  measure  of  support  from  the 
Poles,  who  were  always  alive  to  the  advantage  of 
creating  a  disturbance  in  Russia.  The  appearance  of 
this  impostor  is  supposed  to  have  intensified  Godou- 
noff's  remorse  and  to  have  driven  him  to  the  madness 
which  ended  in  his  death.  For  those  interested  prim- 
arily in  the  opera,  discussion  as  to  the  truth  of  the 
story  is  negligible;  it  suffices  to  note  that  the  murder 
at  Ouglich  is  an  essential  in  the  dramatic  substance, 
both  of  Pushkin  and  Moussorgsky. 

Moussorgsky  did  not,  however,  make  Godounoff  the 
sole  point  of  interest.  From  the  earliest  moment  in 
the  prologue  the  People,  their  sentiments  and  their  ac- 
tions are  brought  well  to  the  fore.  Even  without  a 
knowledge  of  Moussorgsky's  sympathies,  it  would  not 
require  much  penetration  to  perceive  that  the  hero  of 
"Boris  Godounoff"  is  the  Russian  nation  and  the 
ostensible  protagonists  are  in  reality  nothing  but  objects 
on  which  the  light  of  nationalism  may  shine. 

"  Boris  Godounoff "  is  entitled  "  National  Music- 
Drama   in   four   acts    with    a    Prologue."*     The    first 


*  For  the  sake  of  convenience  the  order  of  narration  i.s  that 
of  Rimskv-Korsakoff's  1908  edition. 


PLOT   OF   "BORIS    GODOUNOFF."  135 

scene  of  the  prologue  shows  the  populace  m  the  court- 
yard of  the  Monastery  of  Novodievich.  They  are 
calling  upon  the  Deity  to  persuade  the  unwilling 
Godounoff  to  assume  the  monarchy.  Some  of  the 
crowd  are  not  particularly  fervent  in  their  implora- 
tions,  for  the  reason  that  they  have  but  an  imperfect 
idea  as  to  their  requirements.  In  order  to  secure  a 
semblance  of  zeal  the  nobles  have  commissioned  some 
policemen  to  use  force,  and  the  peasants  are  driven  to 
express  themselves  with  greater  vehemence  by  threats 
of  violent  chastisement  at  the  hands  of  the  police.  The 
secretary  of  the  Douma,  Shchelakoff,  enters  and  brings 
intelligence  of  the  diffidence  of  Boris,  who  has  been 
living  in  retirement  in  the  monastery  since  the  assas- 
sination of  Dmitri.  This  "  backwardness  in  coming 
forward"  is  attributed  by  Pushkin  to  the  guile  of 
Godounoff,  who  wished  to  make  quite  sure  of  the  cor- 
diality of  his  prospective  subjects.  They  renew  their 
entreaties,  and  in  the  second  scene,  which  is  pitched  in 
the  Red  Square  in  front  of  the  Kremlin,  Godounoff 
has  been  won  over,  and  is  seen  passing  through  the 
cheering  crowd  on  the  way  to  his  coronation.  Here 
the  prologue  terminates.  The  text  of  these  two  scenes 
is  the  work  of  Moussorgsky. 

The  first  scene  of  the  initial  act,  which  is  taken 
practically  intact  from  Pushkin,  is  laid  in  a  cell  of  the 
Monastery  of  the  Miracle.  Pimen,  an  old  monk,  is 
discovered  putting  the  finishing  touches  to  his  chron- 
icle of  the  history  of  Russia,  one  of  its  concluding 
incidents  being  the  murder  of  Dmitri.  Near  him  lies 
a  young  novice,  Grigory  Otrepieff.  The  latter  awakes 
from  a  terrifying  dream  and  questions  Pimen  as  to 
the   circumstances   of    the    murder   of    the    Czarevich. 


136  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Grigory,  learning  that  Dmitri  was  the  same  age  as 
himself,  falls  a  prey  to  an  exaltation  of  mind,  to 
which  his  own  ambition  is  to  some  extent  contributory, 
and  persuades  himself  that  he  is  to  be  the  agent  of  his 
Maker  in  bringing  about  the  exposure  and  punishment 
of  the  newly-appointed  Czar. 

The  second  scene  of  this  act  brings  us  to  the 
Lithuanian  frontier,  and  represents  the  interior  of  a 
country  inn.  After  a  song  by  the  hostess,  in  which 
number  the  vein  of  the  "Hopak"  is  recalled,  there 
arrive  two  vagabond  friars,  \^arlaam  and  Missail,  ac- 
companied by  the  }'oung  novice,  Grigory,  who  has  es- 
caped from  the  monastery  and  has  assumed  a  disguise 
under  which  he  hopes  to  gain  the  frontier.  After  some 
passages  between  the  lively  friars  and  their  taciturn 
companion,  whom  they  taunt  on  his  refusing  to  join  in 
their  carousal,  a  peremptory  knock  is  heard  and  the 
police  enter  to  prosecute  their  search  for  the  missing 
novice.  They  produce  a  warrant  and  hand  it  to  Var- 
laam,  whom  they  already  suspect.  Varlaam,  a  little 
overcome  by  liquid  refreshment,  is  at  first  apathetic, 
but  when  Grigory  reads  from  the  document  a  fictitious 
description  of  Varlaam,  which  he  substitutes  for  that 
of  himself,  the  friar  seizes  the  warrant  and  interprets 
it  faithfully.  Grigory  is  at  once  recognised  from  the 
verbal  portrait,  but  before  the  astonished  police  can 
act,  he  draws  his  knife  and  escapes  through  the  win- 
dow. The  songs  of  the  hostess  and  Varlaam  are 
based  on  folk-material. 

The  second  act  takes  place  in  the  private  apartments 
of  the  Imperial  Palace.     Xenia,  the  Czar's  daughter,  is 


SECOND   ACT   OF   "BORIS."  1 37 

lamenting  the  death  of  her  betrothed  ;*  Boris's  young 
son,  Feodor,  is  examining  the  works  of  a  clock.  Their 
nurse  endeavours  to  console  the  mourning  Xenia,  and 
proposes  a  "  singing  game  "  in  which  she  takes  so  lively 
a  part  that  she  fails  to  notice  the  entrance  of  her  im- 
perial master.  Boris  is,  however,  in  a  sympathetic 
mood.  The  nurse  and  Xenia  withdraw,  and  the  father 
notices  that  Feodor  is  engrossed  in  the  study  of  a  map 
of  Russia.  He  prophesies  that  his  son  will  one  day 
rule  over  the  land.  Just  then  a  disturbance  is  heard 
outside,  and  during  Feodcr's  absence  in  search  of  its 
cause.  Prince  Shouisky  arrives  with  the  news  of  the 
appearance  on  the  frontier,  of  a  pretender,  who  claims 
to  be  the  murdered  Dmitri.  Before  Shouisky  can  be 
admitted,  Feodor  returns  and  explains  that  the  noise 
was  caused  by  the  excitement  of  the  servants  at  the 
escape  of  a  parrakeet  belonging  to  the  palace.t 
Feodor  then  retires  and  Shouisky  enters  and  gives  an 
account  of  the  Polish  rising,  at  the  head  of  which  is 
the  pretender.  Boris  conjures  Shouisky  to  swear  that 
the  victim  of  the  murder  at  Ouglich  was  really  the 
child  Dmitri,  and  Shouisky's  reply  takes  the  form  of 
a  description  of  the  actual  crime,  which  is  so  realistic 
that  Boris,  after  dismissing  him,  has  a  fit  of  the  hor- 
rors; he  is  the  victim  of  a  hallucination  and  imagines 


*  This  probably  refers  to  the  marriage  which  had  been  ar- 
ranged with  John  of  Denmark,  the  brother  of  James  the  First's 
consort,  one  of  the  schemes  attributed  to  the  worklly  ambition 
of  Godonnoff.     John's  premature  death  upset  this  plan. 

t  Karamzin  records  that  the  first  bird  of  this  species  intro- 
duced into  Russia  was  presented  to  the  Czar  Boris,  and  it  is 
thought  that  Moussorgsky  refers  to  this  in  order  to  heighten 
the  historical  interest  of  the  opera. 


130  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

himself  confronted  by  the  bloody  corpse  of  the  mur- 
dered prince.  The  curtain  falls.  Here  again  Push- 
kin's text  remains  virtually  unaltered,  but  for  the  epi- 
sodic details  introduced  by  the  nurse  and  the  incident 
of  the  parrakeet. 

The  text  of  the  third  act  belongs  entirely  to  Mous- 
sorgsky,  and  serves  to  introduce  the  Polish  insurrec- 
tionary element  and  also  the  love  interest  of  the  drama. 
The  first  scene  takes  place  in  the  apartments  of  Marina 
Mnichek,  a  Polish  princess,  whose  father  is  holding  a 
festival  at  his  castle  of  Sandomir.  The  princess  has 
been  persuaded  by  her  Jesuit  advisers  to  receive  Gri- 
gory  with  hospitality  for  the  purpose  of  using  him  as 
an  instrument  whereby  the  Russian  throne  may  be  as- 
sailed. Grigory  has  conceived  a  passion  for  ]\Iarina 
and  is  thus  an  easy  tool.  Marina,  who  is  making  her 
toilet,  is  interrupted  by  a  Jesuit  priest,  Rangoni.  The 
priest  calls  upon  her  to  exert  every  possible  influence 
over  the  false  Dmitri,  so  that  through  him  the  con- 
version of  the  Muscovites  to  the  one  true  faith  may  be 
achieved.  Marina,  at  first  horrified  by  the  lengths  to 
which  Rangoni  proposes  she  should  go  in  order  to  en- 
compass the  enslavement  of  her  lover,  refuses,  but  being 
threatened  by  the  Jesuit  with  the  Divine  displeasure, 
she  capitulates. 

The  next  scene  discovers  Grigory  awaiting  the  fulfil- 
ment of  Marina's  assignation  with  him  in  the  castle 
gardens.  The  agreed  trysting  place  is  near  a  foun- 
tain. Grigory's  soliloquies  are  cut  short  by  Rangoni, 
who  assures  the  pretender  that  he  is  the  object  of 
Marina's  tender  passion.  Once  more  alone,  Grigory 
overheads  the  plot  of  the  Poles  whose  designs  against 
his  country  are  not  by  any  means  in  accord  with  his 


FOURTH   ACT   OF   "BORIS."  1 39 

own  ambitions.  But  when  Marina  arrives,  she  man- 
ages, by  feminine  wiles,  to  overcome  his  fears,  and  they 
plight  their  troth — to  the  intense  satisfaction  of  the 
spying  Rangoni. 

The  fourth  and  last  act  is  divided  into  two  scenes. 
The  first  shows  the  highway  to  Moscow,  near  the  forest 
of  Kromy.  The  pretender*  is  passing  through  the 
forest  with  his  troops,  bent  on  the  capture  of  Moscow. 
The  country  is  in  revolt,  and  the  peasants  are  seen 
baiting  an  old  noble.  A  group  of  youngsters  are  tor- 
menting a  poor  half-witted  lad.  The  two  friars,  Var- 
laam  and  ]\lissajl,  have  attached  themselves  to  the  pre- 
tender's forces  and  are  doing  their  drunken  best  to 
arouse  popular  feeling  in  support  of  the  new  Czar. 
After  a  bout  between  the  crowd  and  two  Jesuit  priests, 
who  narrowly  escape  hanging  at  the  hands  of  the 
peasants,  the  usurper  arrives  and  calls  upon  the  people 
to  follow  him  to  the  Kremlin.  The  people,  who  are 
represented  as  having  no  minds  of  their  own,  rush  after 
the  pretender  in  an  access  of  crazy  enthusiasm  for  the 
latest  revolutionary  notion,  and  the  sole  remaining 
occupant  of  the  stage,  the  poor  idiot  boy,  sobs  a  lament 
for  his  country  and  its  folk. 

The  second  and  final  scene  brings  us  back  to  Mos- 
cow. It  takes  place  in  the  hall  of  the  Douma,  where  a 
special  sitting  of  the  nobles  is  being  held  for  the  pur- 
pose of  discussing  a  proper  punishment  of  the  usurper. 
Shouisky  brings  word  that  the  Czar  is  suffering  fearful 
mental  torture  from  the  hallucinations  engendered  by 
the  recollection  of  the  unforgettable  crime.  Shouisky 
is  still  enlarging  on  the  ruler's  state  of  mind  when 
Boris  rushes  in  in  a  paroxysm  of  fear.     He  is  supposed 


I40  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

to  have  emerged  from  his  encounter  with  the  apparition 
of  the  real  Dmitri,  which  took  place  in  the  second  act. 

In  the  presence  of  his  nobles  Boris  becomes  a  little 
calmer,  and  Shouisky  announces  that  an  old  monk  is 
awaiting  an  audience.  Pimen  appears  and  relates  a 
story  he  has  heard  from  an  old  shepherd.  The  shep- 
herd, who  had  been  blind  since  childhood,  had  heard 
in  his  dreams  a  voice  which  commanded  him  to  go  to 
the  tomb  of  Dmitri  and  there  to  pray.  He  obeyed  the 
voice,  which  was  that  of  the  dead  Czarevich,  and  his 
sight  was  restored  to  him.  The  nobles,  hearing  this 
recital,  look  upon  it  as  convincing  proof  of  the  falsity 
of  the  pretender's  claim,  but  Boris,  instead  of  evincing 
the  satisfaction  they  expect,  is  so  consumed  with  re- 
morse at  this  final  and  conclusive  evidence  that  the 
crime  instigated  by  him  was  really  committed,  that  he 
collapses  and  succumbs,  after  commending  his  young 
son  to  the  nobles. 

In  these  two  scenes  which  are  pregnant  with  a  fright- 
ful realism,  Moussorgsky  is  responsible  for  the  text. 
Only  the  episode  of  the  idiot  and  the  recital  of  Pimen 
belong  to  the  original. 

For  various  reasons  "  Boris  Godouncff,"  as  it  is  now 
performed,  is  not  to  be  considered  as  a  completely 
spontaneous  product.  In  the  first  place,  the  difference 
between  the  first  version  with  its  lack  of  feminine  in- 
terest, and  the  second,  is  by  no  means  slight. 

Acting  on  the  advice  of  Stassoff  and  of  Hartmann, 
an  architect,  Moussorgsky  made  a  very  considerable 
addition  to  the  existing  substance  of  the  work.  The 
opening  portion  of  the  inn  scene,  containing  the  hos- 
tess's song,  the  chiming  clock  and  parrakeet  incidents, 
as  well  as  the  children's  diversions  in  the  scene  of  the 


EMENDATION  OF   "BORIS."  I4I 

royal  apartments,  and  the  whole  of  the  Polish  scene, 
were  all  included  at  the  instance  of  his  friends.  The 
scene  in  the  cell  was  enlarged  and  the  choral  fragments 
were  brought  in.  Then,  persuaded  by  his  friend  Nikol- 
sky,  the  composer  altered  the  order  of  the  last  two 
scenes  so  that  the  drama  finished,  not  with  the  death 
of  Boris,  but  with  the  reappearance  of  Grigory  as  pre- 
tender, the  revolt  of  the  people,  and  finally  the  plaint 
of  the  idiot. 

Fifteen  years  after  Moussorgsky's  death,  Rimsky- 
Korsakoff  undertook  a  "revision"  of  the  opera,  in 
which  he  seems  not  only  to  have  toned  down  a  good 
many  musical  features  which  would  have  won  accept- 
ance to-day  as  having  been  extraordinarily  prophetic, 
but  to  have  cut  out  a  good  deal  of  the  supplementary 
numbers  in  Moussorgsky's  second  version.  Two  years 
later  these  were  replaced  by  the  reviser  in  his  edition  of 
1908,  but  a  further  and  quite  radical  change  has  since 
been  made  by  the  producers,  and  in  the  version  given 
in  Paris  and  London,  in  191 3,  the  whole  of  the  Polish 
act  had  disappeared,  as  also  the  episode  of  the  parra- 
keet,  and  several  minor  excisions  were  made. 

It  has  further  to  be  remembered  that  a  good  deal  of 
the  music  of  "  Boris  Godounoff "  was  not  composed 
expressly  for  that  drama,  but  originated  in  the  for- 
saken "Salammbo"  (1866).  a  work  of  a  different  order. 

The  music  of  Boris's  death  scene,  the  love  scene 
between  Dmitri  and  Marina,  Boris's  aria  in  the  second 
act,  the  hustling  of  the  two  Jesuit  priests,  as  well  as  the 
people's  welcome  to  the  pretender  in  the  first  scene  of 
the  fourth  act,  and  some  of  the  Douma  scene,  were  all 
originally  composed  for  "  Salammbo "  and  were 
grafted  on  to  "Boris  Godounoff"  after  undergoing  the 


142  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

process  of  modification  and  improvement  dictated  both 
by  Moussorgsky's  ripened  powers  and  the  exigencies  of 
transplantation. 

As  usually  performed,  "Boris  Godounoff"  gives  the 
impression  of  being  a  series  of  historical  illustrations 
rather  than  a  music-drama,  and  at  first  acquaintance 
with  the  work,  the  absence  of  overture,  entr'actes,  of 
everything  of  the  kind  but  a  brief  introduction  which 
reunites     the     temporarily     interrupted     vocal      line, 
heightens  such  impression.     There  is,  however,  a  strong 
link   between   the   various   sections,   a   musical    thread 
which   serves   effectively    to  connect    the   whole.     One 
feels  that  Moussorgsky's  desire  for  dramatic  legitimacy 
has  much  in  common  with  that  of  the  modern  British 
dramatist,  and  the  elimination  of  the  factitious  from 
**  Boris   Godounoff "   is  certainly   an   early   step   in  the 
dn-ection   taken  by   Bernard   Shaw  when,  in   "  Getting 
Married,"  he  rings  down  the  curtain  on  a  handshake, 
but  on  lifting  it  again  shows  the  greeting  still  in  pro- 
gress, thus  making  an  interval  to  meet  the  demands  of 
the  audience  without  disturbing  the  progress  of  drama- 
tic events. 
/    Although  there  is  nothing  in  the  symphonic  dcvelop- 
/   mcnts    in    "  Boris   Godounoff "    which    approaches    the 
/      complexities  of  Wagnerian  music-drama,  the   leading 
I       motives  are  quite  definitely  associated  with  the  charac- 
\     ters    and   emotions   of   the  drama.     The   music   which 
\  accompanies  reference  to  the  false  Dmitri  comes   fre- 
quently to  the  fore  after  its  first  appearance  in  Pimen's 
cell,  and  in  the  mazurka  theme  of  Marina's  aria,  one  of 
the  weakest  numbers  of  the  whole  opera,  Moussorgsky 
risks  exposure  of  its  poor  quality  by  an  excessive  allu- 
sion to  its  melody  and  rhythm  in  the  Polish  act  (Act 


SUGGESTIVE  MUSIC.  1 43 

III).  Noteworthy  features  in  the  realm  of  musical  sug- 
gestion are  those  of  the  music  accompanying  the  hallu- 
cinations of  Boris,  where  Moussorgsky  forsakes  the 
conventional  custom  of  employing  the  heavy  brass  and 
reproduces  the  frenzy  in  musical  terms  by  means  of  a 
downward  chromatic  passage  played  tremolo  by  strings 
— an  effect  which  succeeds  because  it  has  a  far  more 
direct  appeal  to  the  nerves  of  the  listener  than  the  more 
abstract  commentary  of  the  German  operatic  masters, 
past  and  present ;  again  when  Boris  makes  his  imperial- 
istic reference  to  his  son's  map,  a  few  simple  but  majes- 
tic  chords  serve  admirably  to  convey  a  sentiment  of 
ambitious  monarchism.  Many  moments  in  "  Boris 
Godounoff "  testify  to  the  capacity  of  its  composer  for 
realistic  musical  reproduction  of  the  thing  acted.  The 
undulating  line  which  accompanies  the  writing  of  the 
venerable  scribe,  Pimen,  the  musical  devices  which 
assist  in  the  suggestion  of  the  vinous  obfuscation  of 
the  bibulous  Varlaam,  the  addition  of  harmonics  to  the 
bell  tones  by  means  of  auxiliary  notes  given  to  wind 
instruments,  the  use  of  ancient  liturgical  modes  in  con- 
nection with  the  Pimen  interest,  for  the  knowledge  of 
which  Moussorgsky  was  indebted  to  his  earlier  re- 
searches under  Kroupsky's  guidance,  the  highly  sugges- 
tive pathos  of  the  music  in  the  episode  of  the  tormented/' 
idiot — a  reminiscence  of  "  Savishna  "  and  the  uncoiV 
promising  truthfulness  of  the  innkeeper's  song. 

From  the  dramatic  view-point  there  are  certain  lapses 
from  legitimacy.  In  the  monastic  cell  scene,  for  in- 
stance, it  is  not  until  the  awakened  Grigory  has  been 
singing  at  the  top  of  his  voice  for  some  considerable 
time  that  Pimen  notices — apparently  for  the  first  time 


144  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

— that  the  novice  is  no  longer  slumbering.  Again,  the 
appearance  of  Shouisky  at  the  very  moment  when  his 
absence  from  the  Douma  meeting  is  first  noticed,  is  a 
blemish  which  might  easily  have  been  avoided.  Such 
defects  as  these,  no  doubt,  would  have  passed  un- 
noticed on  any  stage  in  the  early  seventies,  but  they  are 
sufficiently  remarkable  when  associated  with  the  work 
of  a  man  whose  reformative  efforts  were  directed  pre- 
cisely at  such  inconsistencies.  That  he  was  not  blind 
to  niceties  of  the  kind  is  manifest  from  his  recognition 
of  the  dramatic  force  and  appropriateness  of  Boris's 
entrance  to  the  Douma  meeting,  immediately  after 
Shouisky's  report  on  his  state  of  mind,  ejaculating  the 
very  word  "avaunt"  which  has  just  fallen  from 
Shouisky's  lips. 

A  considerable  stress  has  been  laid  upon  Moussorg- 
sky's  employment  of  folk-tunes.  It  seems  a  little  un- 
safe to  attribute  any  deliberacy  to  the  composer  in  this 
matter,  apart,  that  is,  from  the  use  of  the  complete 
popular  folk-melodies  such  as  those  in  the  scene  with 
the  nurse,  for  in  spite  of  certain  definite  allusions  like 
that  of  the  "  Russian  theme  "of  Beethoven's  Quartet, 
Op.  59,  occurring  in  the  coronation  scene,  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  Moussorgsky  had  so  steeped 
himself  in  folk-music,  both  during  childhood  and  in 
his  frequent  visits  to  the  country,  that  he  hardly  knew 
himself  what  was  original  and  what  was  not.  In 
passing,  it  may  here  be  suggested  that  this  is  a  very 
desirable  consummation  of  the  nationalistic  proposi- 
tion, one  which  finds  a  parrallel  in  the  work  of  other 
composers  with  a  purpose  such  as  Sibelius  and  Grieg. 
Other  Russian  composers  iiave  made  copious  refer- 
ences to  the   treasury   of   native   folk-song,   but  ■  none 


RECEPTION   OF   "BORIS."  145 

has  invested  his  quotations  with  the  quahty  or  appear- 
ance of  spontaneity,  which  is  an  essential  condition  of 
the  artistic  fitness  of  such  a  proceeding. 

"  Artistic  fitness  "  is  the  expression  which  best  sums 
up  the  work  of  Moussorgsky  in  "Boris  Godounoff," 
and  lest  the  full  measure  of  its  importance  should 
escape  the  notice  of  those  who  peruse  that  remarkable 
score  for  the  first  time  in  the  twentieth  century,  a 
reference  to  the  musico-dramatic  works,  accessible  in 
the  late  sixties  and  early  seventies  of  the  nineteenth, 
should  provide  sufficient  contrast  to  testify  to  the 
amazing  genius  and  prophetic  insight  of  the  master 
who  created  it. 

At  its  production  "Boris  Godounoff"  was  accorded 
a  reception  of  a  kind  now  commonly  associated  with 
works  that  break  new  ground.  For  the  sake  of  con- 
venience such  audiences  may  be  roughly  divided  under 
the  two  heads  of  "  young-minded  "  and  "  old-minded," 
irrespective  of  the  age  of  individual  components.  The 
young-minded  section  of  the  St.  Petersburg  musical 
public,  in  1874,  understood  the  purport  of  !^Ioussorg- 
sky's  innovations  and  recognised  their  profound  signi- 
ficance. The  old-minded  hurled  every  kind  of  criti- 
cal missile  at  the  composer,  accusing  him  of  technical 
ignorance,  vulgarity,  want  of  taste,  and  exposed  their 
own  perversity  by  asserting  that  the  only  successful 
numbers  were  those  which  were  in  the  accepted  oper- 
atic style.  The  opera  was  given  twenty  successive 
performances  and  was  greeted  on  the  one  hand  with 
tremendous  enthusiasm  and  on  the  other  with  furious 
indignation.  Admirers  of  the  work  left  the  theatre 
singing  its  popular  choruses  and  paraded  the  streets 
in   choral    parties.     Four    wreaths,    appropriately    in- 

II 


146  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

scribed,  were  brought  to  the  theatre  on  one  of  the 
evenings,  but  through  the  machinations  of  the  infuri- 
ated opposition  their  presentation,  intended  to  take 
place  during  the  performance,  was  obstructed,  and  they 
had  to  be  sent  to  Moussorgsky's  private  dwelling. 
After  these  initial  performances,  "Boris  Godounoff" 
was  taken  off,  and  made  but  infrequent  appearances. 
It  was  mounted  at  Moscow  in  1889,  but  was  not  again 
placed  in  the  regular  repertory  at  St.  Petersburg  until 
after  its  revision,  in  1896,  by  Rimsky-Korsakoff. 

During  his  preparation  of  the  opera  which  is  usu- 
ally considered  to  be  his  masterpiece,  Moussorgsky 
found  time  for  the  composition  of  several  other  works 
of  note.  In  1870  he  wrote  "  The  Peep  Show,"  a  song  of 
the  same  order  as  the  "  Classic,"  but  on  broader  lines. 
In  "The  Peep  Show"  he  did  not  confine  himself,  as 
before,  to  the  lampooning  of  one  critic,  but  committed 
himself  to  a  characteristic  reproduction  of  the  particu- 
lar musical  foible  of  each  of  the  "old-minded."  This 
song  or  "  humorous  scena  "  was  suggested  to  Moussorg- 
sky by  Stassoff.  It  invites  inspection  of  a  series  of 
puppets  in  a  showman's  booth.  The  first  is  Zaremba, 
then  director  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Conservatorium, 
"  pietist  and  arch-classic,"  whose  fidelity  to  Handel 
offered  an  easy  vehicle  for  musical  caricature.  The 
second  is  Theophile  Tolstoy,  whose  attention  to  the 
musical  art  was,  seemingly,  limited  to  an  undying  and 
oft-expressed  admiration  of  Patti.  Next  comes 
Famyntsin  of  the  "  Classic,"  here  introduced  by  a  re- 
ference to  one  of  his  ephemeral  compositions.  The 
last  is  Seroff,  whose  critical  extravagances  have  already 
been  referred  to  in  these  pages;  the  redoubtable  Wag- 
nerian   is    represented    by    a   theme  from    "  Rogneda." 


"THE   PEEP-SHOW."  14; 

The  critical  attitude  towards  "Boris  Godounoff"  is 
now  partly  accounted  for  !  The  identity  of  the  vic- 
tims is  even  more  clearly  revealed  than  that  of  the 
dramatic  critics  in  the  prologue  to  "  Fanny's  First 
Play,"  and  this  salutary  exposure  of  their  prejudices 
was  hardly  calculated  to  evoke  an  unbiassed  estimate 
of  the  genius  of  the  satirist  or  its  product.  The  music 
of  "The  Peep  Show"  is,  of  course,  less  representative 
of  the  composer  than  the  use  to  which  it  was  put.  That 
the  scena  was  for  a  long  time  one  of  the  few  specimens 
of  Moussorgsky's  output  at  all  familiar  to  English 
audiences,  is  one  of  those  curious  misdemeanours  of 
circumstance  which  are  now  and  again  responsible  for 
much  misunderstanding. 

A  "Child's  Song,"  dating  from  1868,  has  been  men- 
tioned. Dargomijsky,  impressed  with  the  value  of 
this,  had  given  a  great  deal  of  encouragement  to  Mous- 
sorgsky  to  make  further  essays  of  the  kind,  with  the 
result  that  the  latter  wrote  four  more,  to  which  another 
two  were  afterwards  added.  These  little  sketches  of 
child-life,  known  as  "  The  Nursery,"  contain  the  quint- 
essence of  Moussorgsky's  artistic  and  human  qualities. 
Each  of  these  little  scenes  is  a  self-contained  comedy 
of  nursery  life — a  comedy,  be  it  understood,  from 
which  pathos  is  not  long  absent.  Moussorgsky  makes 
it  quite  plain  that  he  really  understood  children,  and 
no  less,  that  he  loved  them.  By  means  of  the  most  in- 
genious rhythmic  and  melodic  devices,  he  has  con- 
trived to  paint  these  musical  pictures  with  such  extra- 
ordinary realism  that  almost  every  gesture  of  the  child 
is  portrayed  therein,  and  every  shade  of  meaning  in 
the  words  is  faithfully  interpreted  by  the  music. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  regard  for  the  formulas  of 


148  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

conventional  song-writing,  and  much  of  the  music,  if 
separated  from  the  text,  would  be  meaningless. 
Nothing  more  need  be  claimed  than  that  in  the  whole 
domain  of  child-art  these  songs  would  hardly  find  a 
parallel  in  significance  and  power. 

The  first,  "  Nurse,  tell  me  a  Tale,"  pictures  a  child's 
demand  for  a  story  "  about  the  bogey  man  who  gobbles 
up  little  children,"  or  about  the  club-footed  prince 
whose  every  step  causes  a  mushroom  to  come  up  out  of 
the  ground,  or  of  the  princess  who  sneezes  so  violently 
that  she  breaks  the  windows.  The  rhythmic  pattern 
of  this  song  is  changed  at  every  turn  in  the  story,  and 
it  has  gained  a  sort  of  notoriety  for  its  twenty-seven, 
variations  of  time-signature. 

The  second,  "  Go  in  the  corner,"  describes  the  nurse's 
return  after  a  brief  absence,  to  find  the  nursery  strewn 
with  a  fearful  mess  of  cotton,  wrecked  stitching,  and 
all  the  contents  of  the  nursery  work-basket,  to  which  a 
bottle  of  ink  has  contributed  even  greater  devastation. 
Mishenka  is  blamed  and  sentenced,  and  after  his 
already  grave  offence  has  been  further  aggravated  by 
rudeness,  Moussorgsky  tactfully  draws  a  veil 

The  third  tells  of  a  breath-taking  encounter  with  a 
bold  cockchafer  which  intrudes  upon  the  child's  build- 
ing operations  in  the  garden.  Mishenka  hits  out 
blindly,  and  is  quite  mystified  at  the  passivity  of  the 
enemy,  lying  en  his  back,  his  legs  trembling  in  a  final 
and  ineffective  protest  against  a  premature  end. 

The  fourth  is  a  charming  cradle  song  to  a  sleeping 
doll,  which  is  beseeched  to  remember  its  dreams  so 
that  they  may  liven  waking  hours. 

"The  Child's  Prayer,"  which  follows,  probably 
brings   us  nearer   to   the   real    Moussorgsky    than   any 


"the  nursery."  149 

other  of  the  gems  of  his  legacy  to  us.  The  child 
prays  on  behalf  of  a  whole  string  of  people,  and  for- 
gets "  what  comes  next "  at  the  moment  for  craving 
God's  indulgence  for  her  own  little  sins.  Nurse,  who 
cannot  remember  hoiv  many  times  she  has  had  to  tell 
her,  supplies  the  elusive  phrase. 

The  sixth  is  another  nerve-shattering  occurrence 
which  recalls  the  slaughter  of  the  cockchafer.  The  old 
cat  is  discovered  in  a  murderous  attack  upon  the  robin's 
cage.  Mishenka  watches  his  chance  and — bang ! 
Complete  rout  of  the  cat,  and  a  tingling  hand  the  only 
damage. 

The  seventh  and  last  scene,  "The  Hobby  Horse," 
shews  the  child  astride  a  stick,  "transforming  his 
nursery  into  a  veritable  battle-field,  assaulting  defence- 
less chairs  and  inflicting  upon  them,  here  a  broken  leg, 
there  an  arm."*  The  intrepid  warrior  does  not  emerge 
unscathed  from  the  conflict,  and  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful and  effective  modulations  in  the  tonality  and 
text  alike  is  wrought  in  illustration  of  the  parental 
endeavour  to  distract  the  child's  attention  from  the 
damage  caused  by  a  fall  sustained  whilst  at  full 
gallop.  This  passage  recalls  the  music  of  another 
between  Boris  Godounoff  and  his  son. 

Appreciation  of  what  Moussorgsky  has  done  for  the 
children  could  hardly  be  better  expressed  than  in  the 
words  of  M.  Combarieu.  "Other  composers  have  sung 
or  portrayed  childhood.  Schumann  is  one  of  the  most 
celebrated.  He  has  written  pieces  for  children  which 
are  pearls  beyond  price.  But  how  different  is  the  w^ork 
of  the  Russian  musician.     Schumann  remains  a  spec- 


From  a  notice  by  Debussy, 


150  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

tator  of  the  youngster's  games,  he  dreams,  he  thinks 
and  feels,  and  as  a  true  German  he  is  profoundly 
touched  (always  Gemiith!)  as  though  in  contemplation 

of  a  pellucid  stream  or  a  starry  sky With  Mous- 

sorgsky  it  is  a  very  different  thing.  He  is  no  onlooker ; 
in  depictuig  the  children  he  himself  returns  to  child- 
hood; one  might  say  that  he  plays  with  them  and  sulks 
with  them " 

On  the  publication  of  "  The  Nursery,"  iMoussorgsky 
received  a  gratifying  surprise  in  the  shape  of  a  most 
warm  appreciation  from  Liszt ;  the  feelings  thereby 
aroused  are  expressed  in  a  letter  from  the  former  to 
Stassoff.  "  Liszt  amazes  me.  If  I  am  a  musical  simple- 
ton, it  seems  that  I  was  not  one  when  I  wrote  '  The 
Nursery.'  For,  to  understand  children,  to  look  upon 
them  as  human  beings  with  minds  of  their  own  and 
not  as  so  many  amusing  dolls,  is  not  the  privilege  of 
simpletons." 

As  has  elsewhere  been  chronicled,  it  was  in  the  win- 
ter of  1 8/ I -2  that  Gedeonoff  approached  Moussorgsky, 
Borodin,  Rimsky-Korsakoff  and  Cesar  Cui  with  his 
"  Mlada  "  project,  and  Moussorgsky  was  busy  with  the 
composition  of  the  portion  for  which  he  had  made  him- 
self responsible,  until  the  end  of  that  winter.  His  con- 
tribution included  the  setting  of  a  grand  fantasmagoric 
scena,  "  The  Offering  to  the  Black  Goat  on  the  Bare 
Mountain,"  which  was  a  somewhat  modified  version 
of  the  symphonic  poem  written  in  1867.  "Mlada,"  as 
we  know,  was  abandoned. 


VI. 

"  KHOVANSHCHINA." 

QUITE  soon  after  Moussorgsky  had  finished  work- 
ing  upon   "  Mlada,"  Stassoff   proposed   to   him 
the    composition    of    another    opera.      Stassoff 
considered    that    "the   antogonism    between    the    old 
Russia  and  the  new,  and   the  triumph  of  the  latter, 
would     provide     excellent     material.      Moussorgsky," 

continues  Stassoff,  "  was  of  the  same  mind He 

set  to  work  with  ardour.  To  study  the  history  of  the 
Raskolniks  (Old  Believers),  and  the  chronicles  of 
seventeenth  century  Russia,  involved  immense  labour. 
The  many  long  letters  he  wrote  me  at  this  time  were 
full  of  information  as  to  his  researches  and  views  as 
to  the  music,  characters  and  scenes  of  the  opera.  The 
best  sections  were  written  between  1872  and  1875." 

Moussorgsky's  enthusiasm  for  his  new  work,  and  the 
extent  to  which  he  was  engrossed  in  it  are  best 
described  by  his  own  expression  of  amusement,  when, 
in  1873,  the  performance  of  the  three  fragments  of 
"  Boris  Godounoff "  was  announced  to  take  place  at 
the  Maryinsky  Theatre.  "When  our  attempts  to  re- 
present human  beings  by  living  music  shall  be  under- 

1.51 


1^2  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

stood  by  those  who  understand  the  art  of  Hving,  and 
when  those  who  merely  vegetate  begin  to  throw  hand- 
f  uls  of  mud  at  us ;  when  we  are  crucified  by  the  musi- 
cal Pharisees,  then  shall  we  have  begun  to  make  real 
progress.  The  more  mud,  the  greater  progress. 
This  is  how  they  will  criticise  '  Boris.'  It  is 
highly  gratifying  to  think  that  we  are  absorbed  in 
'  Khovanshchina,'  whilst  they  are  reproaching  us  for 
'  Boris.'  Our  gaze  is  fixed  upon  the  future  and  we 
are  not  to  be  deterred  by  criticism.  They  will  accuse 
us  of  having  violated  all  the  divine  and  human 
canons.  We  shall  just  say  'Yes,'  adding  to  ourselves 
that  there  will  be  many  such  violations  ere  long.  'You 
will  soon  be  forgotten,'  they  will  croak,  '  for  ever  and 
aye,'  and  our  answer  will  be:  'Non,  non,  et  non, 
Madame!  " 

To  appreciate  the  profound  significance  of  "  Khov- 
anshchina "  in  its  relation  to  the  social  and  religious 
strife  which  it  depicts,  it  is  necessary  to  turn  to  those 
pages  in  Russian  history  which  record  the  struggles 
arising  out  of  the  revision  of  the  bible. 

During  his  regency,  Boris  Godounoff  made  an 
important  change  in  ecclesiastical  administration. 
Hitherto  the  Russian  Church  had  been  governed  from 
Constantinople  in  consequence  of  the  adoption  by 
Russia  of  the  Byzantine  form  of  Christianity. 
Godounoff,  desirous  of  obtaining  the  support  of  the 
Russian  clergy,  established  a  Patriarchate  at  Moscow. 
To  this  office  Nikon  was  appointed  in  1642.  During 
his  tenure,  Nikon  determined  upon  making  what  he 
considered  a  very  necessary  revision  in  the  liturgical 
books  of  the  Church.  These  had  for  generations  past 
been  copied  by  hand,  and  many  inaccuracies  had  crept 


HISTORICAL  BASIS   OF   "  KHOVANSHCHINA."        I  53 

into  their  pages.  On  the  adoption  of  printing,  these 
inaccuracies  were  of  course  invested  with  sanction. 
Nikon  went  to  the  fountain-head,  and  obtained  copies 
of  the  Greek  originals  from  Constantinople  with  the 
object  of  making  the  necessary  restoration.  Errors 
had  also  been  made  in  copying  the  painted  icons,  or 
sacred  tokens.  Nikon  introduced  certain  reforms  in 
the  ritual  in  reference  to  the  manner  of  making  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  of  pronouncing  the  name  of  Jesus, 
and  of  alluding  to  the  Deity  in  the  Creed.  These 
changes,  together  with  those  in  the  liturgical  books, 
brought  about  the  schism  which  divided  the  whole  Rus- 
sian Church.  The  adherents  of  the  traditional  and 
accepted  form  of  worship  called  themselves  Old 
Believers;  the  reformers  called  them  Raskolniks  or 
Dissenters."*  Nothing  could  more  plainly  reveal  the 
fanaticism  which  has  entered  into  the  dispute  between 
the  two  bodies  than  the  surviving  rejection  of  all 
printed  religious  literature,  which  the  Raskolniks  still 
consider  more  likely  to  contain  errors  than  written 
versions.  By  some  of  the  Raskolniks,  to  cross  oneself 
before  a  painted  icon  is  characterised  as  an  act  of 
blasphemy. 

Allied  with  this  movement  against  ecclesiastical  re- 
form, we  find  in  '*  Khovanshchina  "  an  allusion  to  a  con- 
temporaneous dislike  of  Western  ideas  and  customs, 
which  were  already  being  introduced  into  Russia,  an 
attitude  of  distrust  which  came  to  be  justified  long 


*  The  Orthodox  Church  had  been  doing  its  best  for  nearly 
three  hundred  years  to  stamp  out  these  non-conforming  sects, 
when,  in  1906,  Stolypin  granted  recognition  to  all  religious 
sects  in  Russia. 


154  A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

after,  when  a  taste  for  native  art,  music,  literature,  and 
even  a  knowledge  of  the  Russian  tongue  itself,  were 
regarded  as  "bad  form." 

The  period  from  which  the  action  of  "  Khovansh- 
china"  is  derived  is  that  between  the  years  1682  and 
1689.  Feodor,  the  eldest  son  of  the  Czar  Alexis,  had 
just  died  without  issue.  The  throne  was  then  occu- 
pied by  Peter  (afterwards  Peter  the  Great),  who  was 
ten  years  old,  and  who  was  given  the  preference  over 
his  brother  Ivan,  a  child  of  feeble  intellect.  Sophia, 
a  daughter  of  Alexis  by  his  first  marriage,  was  not  in- 
clined to  suffer  the  claim  of  Ivan  to  be  thus  waived, 
and  she  organised  a  revolt  of  the  Streltsy  (archers — 
from  striela,  an  arrow),  a  standing  regiment  of  guards, 
most  of  whom  were  Old  Believers  and  whose  leader 
was  Prince  Ivan  Khcvansky,  with  the  result  that  Ivan 
was  appointed  to  share  the  throne  with  his  brother 
Peter,  Sophia  acting  as  regent.  The  regency  lasted  for 
seven  years,  although  it  came  near  to  being  inter- 
rupted by  a  new  revolt,  this  time  engineered  by 
Khovansky  in  favour  of  his  son  Andrew.  This  rising 
proved  abortive  owing  to  the  assassination  of  the  elder 
Khovansky,  and  when  at  the  end  of  the  regency,  on 
Peter's  taking  over  the  reins  of  government  and  as- 
serting his  independence,  the  Old  Believers  found  that 
he  intended  to  pursue  a  policy  of  Westernisation,  they 
resolved  in  thousands  to  commit  suicide  rather  than 
accept  teachings  which  they  considered  as  emanating 
from  the  Anti-Christ.  It  was  Peter  who  gave  the  name 
of  Khovanshchina  to  the  risings  associated  wdth  the 
Khovansky  family. 

Moussorgsky,  at  Stassoff's  suggestion,  made  use,  in 
"  Khovanshchina,"    of  much    of  the   copious    material 


DRAMATIC    MATERIAL   FOR   "  KHOVANSHCHINA."     1 55 


forthcoming  from  these  historical  circumstances.  Stas- 
soff  phiced  a  complete  sketch  of  the  dramatic  material 
before  Moussorgsky.  "  I  thought  it  would  be  well," 
he  said,  ''  to  take  as  the  central  figure  that  of  Dcsitheus, 
the  spiritual  head  of  the  Old  Believers,  a  strong,  ener- 
getic, profoundly  intelligent  and  experienced  man,  who 
would  act  as  the  guiding  influence  over  the  two 
princes,  Khovansky  (representing  the  old  Russian 
regime  of  traditionalism  and  fanaticism)  and  Galitsin, 
who,  together  with  Sophia,  should  represent  the  Euro- 
peanising  influence.  Other  characters;  the  occurrences 
which  took  place  in  the  German  and  Streltsian  quar- 
ters ;  the  priest  and  his  elderly  sister,  his  young 
nephews;  the  two  Old  Believer  women — the  one 
Martha,  full  of  youth  and  passion  (something  after 
the  style  of  Potiphar's  wife),  the  other,  Susan,  in  the 
sere  and  yellow,  whose  predominating  characteristic 
should  be  a  fanatic  and  intolerant  asceticism — both 
women  perpetually  in  conflict;  the  youthful  Peter  with 
his  playmates;  Sophia,  artful  and  energetic,  with  h^r 
fierce  Streltsy ;  the  Old  Believers,  and  their  collective 
suicide  on  hearing  from  Dositheus  that  'the  old  Russia 
is  dying,  the  birth  of  the  new  is  at  hand' — all  this 
seems  to  us  a  fruitful  subject." 

Mcussorgsky  did  not,  however,  adopt  Stassoff's 
scheme  in  its  entirety.  Owing  to  illness  and  the  claims 
of  another  composition  which  occupied  him  at  that 
time,  he  made  ruthless  cuts  in  the  plan  in  order  to 
arrive  at  the  completion  of  a  presentable  version  before 
it  should  be  too  late.  In  this  way  the  unity  of  the 
drama  was  seriously  menaced.  Sophia  and  Peter  were 
dispensed  w-ith.  Martha  is  presented  as  quite  a  dif- 
ferent character   from   that   originally   conceived,   and 


156  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

the  amours  of  Andrew  Khovansky  were  introduced, 
presumably  as  an  imperative  concession.  Between  the 
characters  retained  there  is  no  lack  of  contrast;  be- 
tween Khovansky  and  Galitsin,  representuig  two  en- 
tirely different  political  tendencies,  and  further  between 
Martha,  standing  for  the  full-blooded  type  of  woman- 
hood, and  Susan,  whose  moral  and  religious  fanatic- 
ism IS  the  product  of  a  nature  exuberant  only  in  a 
negative  attitude  towards  the  joys  of  life.  The  love 
intrigue  brings  in  the  contraposition  of  Khovansky 's 
profligate  son  Andrew,  and  Emma,  the  unwilling  vic- 
tim of  his  amorous  importunities. 

After  a  short  orchestral  prelude,  the  curtain  rises 
upon  a  scene  representing  the  Red  Square  in  Moscow, 
upon  which  dawn  is  just  breaking.  A  group  of 
Streltsy  are  seen,  one  of  whom  is  lying  near  a  pillar, 
mumbling  sleepily  about  an  attack  of  the  previous 
evening  m  which  many  violent  deeds  had  been  wrought. 
A  public  letter-WTiter  enters  to  assume  his  wonted 
"pitch,"  and  after  some  horseplay  at  his  expense  the 
Streltsy  leave  the  square.  The  noble,  Shaklovity,  then 
arrives  and  employs  the  letter-writer  to  draw  up  an 
impeachment  of  the  Khovansky s,  whom  he  accuses  of 
plotting  against  the  Czar.  Whilst  this  is  being  con- 
cocted some  people  pass  at  the  back  of  the  stage  sing- 
ing a  lively  folk-song,  and  later  the  Streltsy  are  heard 
parading  the  neighbourhood,  to  the  terror  of  Shak- 
lovity and  the  writer.  When  the  document  is  com- 
plete, Shaklovity  takes  possession  of  it  and  goes  off, 
after  recommending  the  writer  to  keep  silence  on  the 
subject,  if  he  would  save  his  skin. 

Immediately  after,  the  stage  becomes  filled  with 
people,    and    the    Streltsy    enter    with    the    pompous 


PLOT   OF   "  KHOVANSHCHINA."  I  57 

Khovansky  at  their  head.  He  uses  this  position  to 
obtain  the  support  of  the  people  and  assumes  the  atti- 
tude of  a  fatherly  ruler  towards  them,  exhorting  them 
to  put  down  the  rising  on  behalf  of  Peter.  They  re- 
ceive him  with  expressions  of  respect,  and  sing  a  chorus 
of  acclamation  in  which  the  white  swan  of  the  Khovan- 
sky coat-of-arms  is  referred  to.  He  then  goes  off  fol- 
lowed by  his  guard  and  an  enthusiastic  crowd. 

As  they  depart,  Emma,  a  young  Lutheran,  is  seen 
trying  to  avoid  the  importunities  of  Andrew  Khovan- 
sky. She  refuses  to  listen  to  his  protestations  of  love, 
and,  bitterly  reproaching  him  with  having  brought 
ruin  and  death  upon  her  family,  invites  him  to  kill 
her.  They  are  interrupted  by  Martha,  an  Old  Be- 
liever, who  accuses  Andrew  of  infidelity  towards  her- 
self. He,  furious,  draws  his  knife  and  tries  to  stab 
Martha,  but  she  is  too  quick  for  him  and  tears  the 
weapon  from  his  grasp.  She  then  proceeds  to  deliver 
a  mystic  prophecy  in  which  in  vague  terms  she  fore- 
tells the  ultimate  fate  of  Andrew. 

His  father  then  returns  with  his  guard,  still  fol- 
lowed by  the  flattering  crowd,  and  inquires  into  the 
cause  of  the  disturbance.  Emma's  appearance  pleases 
him,  and  he  directs  his  guard  to  seize  her ,^ but  Andrew- 
threatens  all  manner  of  violence,  and  finally  tries  to 
kill  Emma  to  prevent  her  from  being  thus  abducted. 
At  this  moment  Dositheus  arrives  upon  the  scene,  sur- 
rounded by  Old  Believers,  and  interferes  in  the  alter- 
cation. He  orders  Martha  to  conduct  Emma  to  her 
home  and  to  protect  her,  and  after  the  withdrawal  of 
Khovansky,  Dositheus  addresses  to  the  crowd  an  ex- 
hortation to  remain  faithful  to  the  traditional  and 
orthodox  religion.     The  curtain   falls  on  the  solitary 


158  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

figure  of  the  venerable  Dositheus;  the  departing  crowd 
is  heard  chanting  a  supplication  to  the  Deity. 

Act  II  passes  in  the  palace  of  Prince  Galitsin.  He 
is  discovered  at  the  rise  of  the  curtain  reading  a  letter 
from  the  regent  Sophia,  with  whom,  in  earlier  days,  he 
has  evidently  been  on  terms  of  affection.  His  com- 
ments on  her  tender  words  reveal  that  his  former  feel- 
ings for  her  have  not  survived,  and  he  is  somewhat  in 
fear  of  her  irrepressible  ambition.  To  him  enters 
Martha,  whom  he  has  caused  to  be  summoned.  In 
spite  of  his  W^estern  education  he  credits  her  with  the 
power  of  clairvoyance.  Then  follows  a  very  effective 
scene.  Martha  calls  for  a  basin  of  water,  envelops 
herself  in  a  long  black  cloak,  and,  gazing  into  the 
water,  foretells  disgrace  and  death  to  Galitsin.  At  the 
close  of  her  incantation,  Martha  goes  out.  Galitsin  is 
alarmed  and  incensed,  and  rings  for  a  servant  whom 
he  instructs  to  see  that  Martha  is  seized  and  drowned 
in  the  neighbouring  marshes.  Galitsin  is  soliloquis- 
ing over  his  own  predicted  degradation  and  the  effect 
of  the  prevailing  strife  upon  the  fate  of  Russia,  when 
Prince  Khovansky  enters  unannounced.  He  complains 
of  Galitsin's  attitude  toward  the  nobles  and  does  his 
best  to  stin^  him  by  means  of  various  discreditable 
insinuations.  Galitsin  at  first  preserves  his  temper,  but 
before  long  he  becomes  thoroughly  nettled  by  Khovan- 
sky's  sarcastic  tone.  Dositheus  enters,  and  tries  to 
pacify  the  disputants.  Outside  the  palace  is  heard 
the  chanting  of  the  Old  Believers,  and  Dositheus  in- 
terposes a  remark  to  the  effect  that  the  activity  of  the 
people  is  in  favourable  contrast  with  the  wordy  wrang- 
ling of  the  nobles.  Suddenly  Martha  rushes  in  with 
a  story  of  an  attempt  upon  her  life  by  the  royalist 


THIRD   ACT   OF    "  KHOVANSHCHINA."  I  59 

faction.  She  is  followed  by  Shaklovity,  who  brings 
news  that  Sophia  has  discovered  the  Khovansky  plot 
against  her,  and  the  scene  ends  with  a  general  be- 
wilderment. 

The  third  act  takes  place  in  the  Streltsian  quarter. 
The  Old  Believers  pass,  still  chanting  their  hymn. 
Martha  separates  herself  from  them  and  seats  herself 
upon  a  mound  in  front  of  Andrew  Khovansky's  house, 
which  occupies  one  side  of  the  stage.  She  sings  a 
plaintive  song  reminiscent  of  the  happier  days,  before 
Andrew's  passion  had  cooled.  She  finishes  by  pro- 
phesying speedy  retribution  for  his  treachery.  Her 
soliloquy  is  interrupted  by  Susan,  who  has  overheard 
her  passionate  references  to  Andrew  and  is  scandalised 
by  these  shameless  allusions. 

When  Martha  resumes  her  song,  Susan  becomes 
frenzied,  and  invokes  the  fires  of  hell  against  the  per- 
son of  the  abandoned  Martha.  During  the  subsequent 
altercation  between  the  two  women,  Dositheus  emerges 
from  Khovansky's  house  and  admonishes  Susan  with 
such  vigour  for  her  arrogance  and  harshness  toward 
Martha,  that  the  dried-up  old  woman  flies  in  terror 
from  the  scene.  There  is  a  passage  in  which  Dosi- 
theus comforts  Martha,  and  reference  is  made  to  the 
coming  suicide  of  Old  Believers.  On  their  departure, 
Shaklovity  enters  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  stage 
and  sings  an  aria,  invoking  God's  aid  on  behalf  of  his 
harassed  country.  At  its  conclusion  there  is  a  rush  of 
Streltsy,  all  clamouring  for  a  detailed  narrative  from 
the  letter-writer,  who  has  heard  of  an  attack,  by  Peter's 
guard,  upon  a  Streltsian  force,  in  which  the  latter  has 
been  completely  routed.  The  present  contingent  are 
now  harried  by  their  wives,  who  arrive  in  a  mass  and 


l6o  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Upbraid  them  for  their  brutality  and  infidelity.  When 
they  are  able  once  more  to  address  themselves  to  the 
situation,  they  decide  to  ask  their  leader's  advice.  Old 
Khovansky  comes  out  of  his  house  and  in  response  to 
their  appeal  counsels  temporary  submission  to  Peter. 

The  fourth  act  is  in  two  scenes.  The  first  is  that 
of  a  large  hall  in  the  Khovansky  country  palace. 
Prince  Ivan  is  discovered  at  table.  The  meal  finished, 
he  orders  his  singers  to  provide  entertainment  so  that 
his  somewhat  gloomy  thoughts  may  be  dispelled. 
Presently  a  messenger  arrives  from  Galitsin,  who  sends 
warning  to  Khovansky  of  a  personal  danger  threaten- 
ing him.  Khovansky  imagines  this  to  be  an  attempt  to 
frighten  him,  and  after  brusquely  dismissing  the  mes- 
senger, calls  for  his  Persian  dancers.  After  a  very 
pretty  divertissement,  Shaklovity  enters  with  a  com- 
mand that  Khovansky  shall  wait  upon  Sophia,  the 
regent.  Thinking  this  to  be  a  sign  of  returning  power, 
Khovansky  dresses  himself  in  his  smartest  and  most 
ceremonious  attire,  and  is  about  to  start,  cheered  by  a 
chorus  of  singers,  who  strike  up  the  hymn  of  glory  to 
the  white  swan,  when  he  is  stabbed  to  death.  The 
whole  entourage  flies  in  terror.  Shaklovity,  the  in- 
stigator of  the  crime,  sings  a  strain  of  the  hymn  over 
the  corpse,  breaking  out  into  a  derisive  laugh.  The 
curtain  falls. 

The  second  scene  represents  a  public  square  in  Mos- 
cow. Crowds  of  people  await  the  passage  of  some 
exiles  under  military  escort,  among  whom  is  presently 
seen  Prince  Galitsin,  now  bereft  of  all  power.  Dosi- 
theus  mixes  with  the  people,  lamenting  the  fall  of  two 
such  leaders  as  Galitsin  and  Khovansky;  he  is  joined 
by  Martha,  who  brings  word  that  the  military  have 


fInal  scene  of  '*  KHOVANSHCHINA."  iGi 

received  orders  to  put  all  the  Old  Believers  to  death. 
Dositheus  decides  thereupon  that  the  time  has  come  for 
them  to  die  by  their  own  hand. 

Prince  Andrew  enters  in  haste,  seeking  Emma,  and 
upbraids  Alartha  for  having  hidden  her.  He  is  ignor- 
ant of  his  father's  assassination.  He  threatens  IMartha 
with  death,  and  she,  desirous  of  enlightening  him  as 
to  his  true  position,  invites  him  to  blow  his  horn  and 
to  summon  the  Streltsy.  This  he  does,  but  there  is 
not  the  immediate  and  reassuring  reply  he  expects.  In- 
stead, the  defeated  Streltsy  are  brought  in  guarded 
by  soldiers,  the  fallen  archers  bearing  axes  and  fag- 
gots. A  herald  then  announces  that  the  two  Czars, 
Ivan  and  Peter,  have  granted  a  pardon  to  the  Old  Be- 
lievers, and  the  scene  ends  with  their  dispersal. 

The  final  scene  shows  the  Old  Believers  preparing 
for  the  act  of  self-immolation,  which  is  to  take  place 
in  a  space  outside  a  hermitage  in  the  depths  of  a  wood 
near  Moscow.  The  Old  Believers,  encouraged  by 
Dositheus,  have  decided  that  death  is  preferable  to 
the  inevitable  renunciation  of  their  faith.  Martha's 
thoughts  are  with  Andrew,  w^hom  she  would  like  to 
share  her  fate,  and  presently  he  comes  in  sight,  still 
searching  for  Emma.  By  an  effort,  half  physical,  half 
hypnotic,  she  manages  to  induce  Andrew  to  mount  the 
pyre  just  as  it  is  being  lighted.  The  Old  Believers 
sing  their  hymn  until  silenced  by  the  flames.  The 
royal  troops  arrive  and  stand  aghast  at  the  spectacle. 
Trumpets  ring  out  and  the  curtain  falls  to  the  sound 
of   a  military  march*  which   serves   to  symbolise  the 


*  This  march  possesses  a  peculiar  interest,  seeing  that  it  is 
associated  with  the  Preobajensky.  Moiissorg.sky's  own  regi- 
ment, which  was  raised  by  Peter  the  Great. 


l62  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSlC. 

rising  of  the  new  Russia  from  the  ashes  of  the 
old. 

One  of  the  most  marked  differences  between  '*  Boris 
Godounoff "  and  "  Khovanshchina "  is  that  the  latter 
has  a  completer  dramatic  continuity.  \Miile  the  scenes 
of  "Boris  Godounoff"  are  somewhat  loosely  connected 
and  bear  an  appearance  of  being  self-contained  rather 
than  that  of  interdependence,  the  dramatic  interest  of 
"Khovanshchina"  is  gradually  evolved,  and  with  in- 
creasing effect,  as  the  drama  proceeds.  This  effect  was 
secured  in  spite  of  the  large  amount  of  curtailment 
which  the  "book"  underwent  at  the  hands  of  jNIous- 
sorgsky  (who  wrote  it) — his  reason  for  compression 
being  that  the  composition  of  the  work  was  causing 
him  a  good  deal  of  trouble  and  he  therefore  believed 
that  his  creative  energies  were  beginning  to  wane. 
Had  "  Khovanshchina "  been  completed  on  the  scale 
and  according  to  the  plan  on  which  it  was  origin- 
ally conceived,  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  work 
would,  as  a  drama,  have  possessed  a  very  much 
greater  power.  Moussorgsky  used  his  pruning-knife, 
not  as  an  artistic  weapon,  but  as  an  instrument  of 
expediency,  and  in  1875,  when  the  characters  of 
Sophia  and  Peter  were  eliminated,  everything  that 
was  not  immediately  reducible  to  shape  was  ruthlessly 
lopped  off. 

The  music  of  "  Khovanshchina  "  is  much  better  suited 
for  its  purpose  than  that  of  "  Boris  Godounoff."  It  is 
more  classical  in  style,  more  lyrical,  and  gains  rather 
than  loses  by  being  less  deliberately  realistic.  Its  com- 
parative simplicity  is  a  very  fitting  quality,  for  the 
dramatic  substance  of   "  Khovanshchina "  pertains   so 


i63 

largely  to  the  primitive.  The  passion  and  the  reli- 
gious emotion  which  permeate  the  work  are  alike  ele- 
mental. 

The  musical  characterisation  shows  an  increased 
subtlety,  and  the  development  of  the  personal  themes 
is  much  more  persistent  than  in  **  Boris  Godounoff." 
Not  only  are  the  musical  "  labels  "  particularly  appro- 
priate, but  their  symphonic  treatment  is  exceedingly 
happy.  Nothing  in  the  whole  opera,  for  instance,  is 
more  successful  than  the  dialogue  between  Galitsin 
and  Khovansky,  in  which  the  admirably  suggested 
contrast  between  the  two  characters  enlivens  an  act 
(the  second),  which  on  the  whole  is  somewhat  dull. 
'*  Khovanshchina "  alludes  even  more  frequently  to 
folk-song  than  docs  "  Boris  Godounoff."  And  here  again, 
be  it  noted,  Moussorgsky  is  found  profiting  by  his  par- 
ticular knowledge  of  the  religious  music  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  acquired  under  the  guidance  of  Kroupsky. 

There  are  many  numbers  of  great  beauty  in  "  Khov- 
anshchina."  The  preludial  music  to  the  first  act,  which 
so  vividly  depicts  the  sights  and  sounds  of  dawn,  the 
folk-song  of  the  passing  crowd,  during  Shaklovity's 
conversation  with  the  letter-writer,  the  splendid  chorus 
acclaiming  Khovansky  in  Act  I,  the  song  in  which 
Martha  first  reproaches  Andrew  with  his  inconstanc}-, 
Dositheus's  exhortation  to  the  Old  Believers,  with 
which  the  first  act  concludes,  Martha's  "  divination  by 
water"  scene  with  Galitsin  (which  has  since  become 
popular  as  a  separate  song),  the  Old  Believers'  chorus 
at  the  opening  of  Act  III,  the  song  of  Martha,  which 
so  enrages  Susan — one  of  the  most  inspired  and 
charming  pieces  in  the  whole  work — Shaklovity's 
lament  for  his  falling  country,  the  concluding  chorus 


164  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

of  Act  III,  the  delightful  song  of  the  Hungarian  mer- 
cenary given  b}^  Khovansk)''s  serving-women,  the  Per- 
sian dances  which  succeed  this;  all  are  striking  testi- 
mony to  Moussorgsky's  power,  both  of  inventing 
beautiful  music,  and  of  beautifying  traditional  music. 

Although  he  seems  to  have  profited  by  bestowing  a 
minor  attention  to  the  demands  of  musical  realism, 
"  Khovanshchina"  provides  a  certam  number  of  in- 
stances to  show  that  Moussorgsky  has  plainly  occu- 
pied himself  with  realistic  effect.  Thus  there  is  again 
a  figure  to  suggest  the  writing  of  the  scrivener  in  Act  I, 
which  recalls  that  used  to  accompany  the  movements 
of  Pimen's  quill  in  "Boris  Godounoff " ;  the  "nagging" 
quality  of  the  music  reinforcing,  as  it  were,  the  pro- 
test of  the  Streltsy  women  in  Act  III,  and  the  syncopa- 
tion which,  shortly  after,  accompanies  the  entrance 
of  the  "winded"  scrivener,  are  both  notable.  As  to 
dramatic  legitimacy,  nothing  is  better  worth  quoting 
than  the  manner  in  which  the  letter-writer's  recital  of 
the  proclamation  to  his  listening  client,  Shaklovity, 
(Act  I)  is  welded  to  the  chorus  of  the  passing  crowd. 
In  such  achievements  as  this,  Moussorgsky  demon- 
strates that  it  is  possible  to  accord  an  equal  considera- 
tion to  dramatic  verity  and  musical  beauty  without 
making  the  slightest  sacrifice.  The  only  doubtful 
moment  in  the  whole  opera  is  the  pyre  scene,  which 
depends  overmuch  upon  the  ingenuity  of  the  stage- 
contriver,  a  functionary  with  whose  limitations  Wag- 
ner representations  have  made  opera-goers  only  too 
familiar. 

The  unfinished  "  Khovanshchina "  was  orchestrated 
after  Moussorgsky 's  death  by  Rimsky-Korsakoff,  who 
found    a    provisional    arrangement    of    the    opera    for 


EMENDATION    OF    "  KHOVANSHCHINA."  165 

piano  and  voice,  which  was  completed,  but  for  the 
finale,  by  the  composer  during  his  stay  in  the  country 
in  the  summer  of  1880.  The  last  pages  of  the  work 
were  added  by  Rimsky-Korsakoff.  The  Persian  dances 
were  actually  orchestrated  during  Moussorgsky's  life- 
time. 

A  good  deal  of  discussion  has  arisen  as  to  the  fit- 
ness of  some  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  emendations  of 
"  Khovanshchina."  ]\1.  Calvocoressi  has  pointed  out  in 
a  newspaper  article  that  the  most  recent  acting  version 
contains  a  good  deal  which  was  suppressed  or  modi- 
fied by  Rimsky-Korsakoff  and  subsequently  restored 
by  Messrs.  Stravinsky  and  Ravel,  thanks  to  which 
labour,  says  the  distinguished  critic,  "we  can  see  that 
the  said  score  (that  published  by  Rimsky-Korsakoff  in 
1883)  was  little  better  than  a  libel  on  his  (the  com- 
poser's) creative  faculties.  Rimsky-Korsakoff  .  .  .  . 
erred  in  all  good  faith  ....  Moussorgsky  believed 
anything  resembling  formalism  to  be  fatal  to  art;  he 
was  as  convinced  that  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  idiom  and 
methods  w^ere  superfluously  stiff  and  conventional  as 
Rimsky-Korsakoff  was  convinced  that  '  Boris  God- 
ounoff'  and  'Khovanshchina'  remained  uncouth  and 
crude.  So  that  the  very  spirit  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff's 
emendations — which  Moussorgsky  would  never  have 
tolerated— is  antagonistic  to  the  spirit  of  the  music 
emendated."  In  a  further  article  M.  Calvocoressi  com- 
ments upon  a  letter  published  by  AI.  Andrew  Rimsky- 
Korsakoff  (the  son)  in  which  the  writer  quite  ill-ad- 
visedly  characterises  the  restoration  as  an  act  of  van- 
dalism and  actually  puts  up  a  plea  for  the  considera- 
tion of  "  Khovanshchina  "  as  the  fruit  of  a  collabora- 
tion   between    Moussorgsky    and    the    writer's    father. 


l66  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Here,  as  M.  Calvocoressi's  comments  justly  imply,  we 
have  a  definitely  flagrant  and  peculiarly  perverse  mis- 
application of  the  word  "vandalism  "  by  one  for  whom 
the  vandalistical  cap  might  well  have  been  made  to 
measure ! 

"  Khovanshchina  "  was  given  its  first  complete  public 
performance  in  1885  at  St.  Petersburg,  through  the 
efforts  of  a  number  of  persons  interested  in  the  whole 
life-work  of  the  composer.  It  was  revived  at  the  Solo- 
dovnikoff  Theatre,  Moscow,  in  1897,  but  has  never  been 
accorded  the  measure  of  attention  which,  in  Russia,  of 
all  countries,  it  so  thoroughly  deserves. 


YII. 

THE   LAST   PHASE. 

SOON  after  the  production  of  "  Eoris  Godounoff," 
Aloussorgsky  addressed  himself  to  the  composi- 
tion of  a  work  in  which  the  element  of  "pro- 
gramme "  was  introduced  in  a  manner  so  daring  that 
it  is  difficult  even  now,  after  a  continued  development 
and  exploitation  of  the  programmatic  idea,  to  cite  a 
parallel.  An  exhibition  of  pictures  by  Moussorgsky's 
recently  deceased  friend,  Victor  Hartmann,  was  held 
in  the  spring  of  1874.  ]\Ioussorgsky,  desirous  of  ex- 
pressing on  his  own  behalf  a  respect  for  the  memory 
of  the  painter,  chose,  as  his  medium,  the  reproduction 
of  certain  of  the  paintings  exhibited  in  the  form  of  a 
series  of  tone-pictures  for  the  piano.  The  title  of  this 
set  of  pieces  is  "  Pictures  from  an  Exhibition."  In 
them  the  composer,  in  a  manner  thoroughly  character- 
istic, has  relied  upon  rhythmic  suggestion  rather  than 
harmonic  colouring  in  the  musical  projection  of  the 
"  literary  "  subject.  The  pieces  are  preceded  by  an  in- 
troduction called  "  Promenade,"  the  theme  of  which  is 
employed  to  suggest  the  perambulations  which,  as  it 
were,  punctuated  the  actual  inspection  of  the  pictures. 

1G7 


1 68  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

"  The  composer,"  says  Stassoff,  to  whom  the  suite  is 
dedicated,  "here  shows  himself  walking  to  and  fro, 
now  loitering,  now  hurrying  to  examine  a  congenial 
work;  sometimes  his  gait  slackens;  Moussorgsky  is 
thinking  sadly  of  his  dead  friend." 

The  pictures  treated  are  as  follows:  (i)  "  Gnomus." 
Picture  representing  a  little  goblin  hobbling  clumsily 
along  on  his  misshapen  legs.  (2)  "  II  Yccchio  Cas- 
tello."  A  mediaeval  castle  in  front  of  which  sings  a 
troubadour.  (3)  "Tuileries."  Children  wrangling  in 
the  Tuilerics  garden.  (4)  "  Bydlo."  A  Polish  chariot 
on  huge  wheels  drawn  by  oxen.  5)  ''Ballet  of 
C^hickens  in  their  Shells."  A  sketch  by  Hartmann  for 
scenery  of  the  ballet,  "Trilby."  (6)  "Samuel  Golden- 
berg  and  Schmuyle."  Two  Polish  Jews,  one  prosper- 
ous, the  other  needy.  (7)  "  Limoges."  The  market 
place.  Bickering  market-women.  (8)  "The  Cata- 
combs." Hartmann  represents  himself  visiting  the  in- 
terior  of  the  catacombs  of  Paris.  (9)  "The  Hut  on 
Fowls'  Legs."  Hartmann's  picture  represents  a  clock 
in  the  shape  of  Baba-Yaga's  hut.  Aloussorgsky  added 
the  trail  of  the  witch  journeying  to  and  fro  in  her  tra- 
ditional mortar.  (10)  "The  Bogatyr's  Gate  at  Kieff." 
Hartmann's  drawing  was  of  a  proposed  gate  in  the  old 
Russian  massive  style  with  a  cupola  in  the  shape  of  a 
Slavonic  helmet. 

Of  this  suite  it  is  hardly  possible  to  say  that  it  pos- 
sesses such  qualities  as  are  likely  immediately  to  ap- 
peal to  the  pianist.  These  "  pictures "  form  an  ex- 
ceedingly successful  study  in  realism,  but  one  is 
obliged  to  admit  that  for  the  most  part  the  numbers 
which  are  strikingly  realistic  are  the  least  pianistic. 
The    realism    of    "Gnomus,"    of    "Bydlo,"    with    its 


"PICTURES    FROM   AN   EXHIBITION."  169 

rhythmic  insinuation  of  lumbering  cattle,  the  amazing 
mastery  in  portraiture  of  the  musical  images  of  the 
prosperous  Goldenberg,  and  the  skinny,  whining 
Schmuyle,  the  power  and  resource  displayed  in  the 
tone-picture  of  the  old  legendary  witch,  are  excellent 
examples  of  the  out-and-out  descriptive  in  music.  The 
pictures  of  the  Spanish  castle  and  of  the  brawling 
market-women  at  Limoges  might  conceivably  be  con- 
sidered as  pleasantly  musical,  but  not  for  a  moment 
as  powerfully  conjuring  up  the  vision  of  Hartmann's 
work  or  of  anything  resembling  it.  The  number  in 
which  the  pictorial  best  succeeds  without  detracting 
from  the  absolute  musical  value  is  that  of  the  Kieff 
Gate.  Here  we  have  the  effect  of  architecture  on  the 
mind,  which  could  never  have  been  conve}'ed  by  words, 
rendered  in  terms  of  music — a  feat  which  has  in  a 
sense  been  emulated  by  Debussy  in  his  *'  Cathedrale 
Engloutie" — one  which,  in  defiance  of  the  apparent 
anachronism  the  employment  of  such  a  term  involves 
(in  discussing  a  work  of  the  later  seventies)  is  only  to 
be  regarded  as  a  particularly  aggressive  specimen  of 
futurism. 

A  further  example  of  the  musical  reproduction  of 
the  pictorial,  attributable  to  the  important  influence 
exerted  on  Moussorgsky  by  his  friend  Golenishcheff- 
Koutousoff,  a  poet  of  no  little  ability,  with  whom  he 
shared  rooms  at  this  time  for  a  whole  year,  came  im- 
mediately after  the  "  Exhibition."  Golenishcheff- 
Koutousoff  was  inspired  by  Vereshchagin's  famous  pic- 
ture, "  Left  Behind,"  representing  a  neglected  corpse  on 
a  battlefield,  to  write  a  short  poem,  and  this  was  set  to 
music  by  Moussorgsky,  not  this  time  with  a  view  to 
depicting  the  actual  thing  seen,  but  rather  with  the  ob- 


170  A    SHORT   HISTORY    OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

ject  of  obtaining  a  musical  evocation  of  the  emotions 
aroused  by  the  contemplation  of  Vereshchagin's 
ghastly  painting. 

Golenishcheff-Koutcusoff  is  in  a  way  responsible  for 
two  works — two  groups  of  songs — which  figure  amongst 
the  most  remarkable  items  of  Moussorgsky's  output. 
These  were  written  during  the  close  association  which 
the  circumstance  of  their  common  dwelling-place 
afforded  the  friends,  and  the  texts  are  the  work  of 
the  poet.  The  first  series,  entitled  "  Without  Sunlight," 
contains  six  songs  for  baritone  or  mezzo-soprano.  The 
opening  song,  "Within  Four  Walls,"  is  the  lamentation 
of  an  invalid,  who,  within  the  dull  white  walls  of 
a  hospital,  suffers  the  slow  agony  of  approaching 
death.  "  In  these  suffocating  chords,"  wrote  M.  Pierre 
Lalo,  "  one  seems  to  breathe  the  air  around  a  death- 
bed." The  second,  "  Lost  in  the  Crowd,"  reveals  the 
pain  of  Moussorgsky's  later  years,  and  shows  more 
plainly  by  its  music  than  mere  words  could  tell  that 
in  the  portrayal  of  suffering  the  composer  had  little 
need  to  look  beyond  his  own  life  for  inspiration.  "  The 
Festal  Days  are  Over,"  the  third  of  the  series,  is  a 
doleful  reminiscence — the  poignant  wretchedness  in- 
duced by  the  recollection  being  musically  emphasised 
by  the  harmonic  and  rhythmic  devices  which  Mous- 
sorgsky  emplo\'ed  with  such  skill,  and  which  seem  so 
exactly  fitting  for  the  emotional  interpretation  of  the 
text  as  to  stamp  them  with  every  appearance  of  com- 
plete spontaneity.  In  "  Ennui,"  the  fourth,  the  vocal 
portion  is  hardly  ever  melodic  and  only  breaks  away 
from  pure  recitative  here  and  there  to  join  the  accom- 
panying melody.  In  the  penultimate  "  Elegie,"  the 
voice  mingles  with  the  accompaniment — is  never  quite 


"WITHOUT    SUNLIGHT."  171 

independent  of  it,  and  in  the  last,  "  On  the  Water,"  the 
melodic  line  of  the  piano  part  is  almost  wholly  fol- 
lowed by  the  vocal,  which  thus  maintains  a  character 
rather  musical  than  declamatory.  As  to  the  poetic 
content  of  the  latter  numbers,  their  setting  contributes 
to  the  whole  series  a  comprehensive  realisation  of  an 
idea  which,  if  not  strictly  comparable  with  that  of 
Newman's  "  Dream  of  Gerontius,"  at  least  recalls  it. 
"  W'ithout  Sunlight"  is  a  lyrical  prevision  of  death  and 
transfiguration. 

The  second  group  of  songs  to  words  of  Golenishcheff- 
Koutousoff,  of  which  the  first  three  appeared  in  1875, 
and  the  last  in  1877,  are  called  "Songs  and  Dances 
of  Death."  In  these  marvellous  little  pieces  there  is  a 
fusion  of  all  the  greatest  components  of  Mousscrgsky's 
genius.  The  poems  of  Golenishcheff-Koutousoff  seem 
to  have  appealed  with  such  intensity  to  the  composer 
as  to  have  evoked  from  him  a  work  of  art  which  has  no 
equal  either  in  his  own  output  or  indeed  in  the  whole 
range  of  modern  song.  In  the  "  Songs  and  Dances  of 
Death,"  Moussorgsky  is  found  capable  of  creating 
"absolute"  or  "pure"  music  without  sacrificing  in  any 
degree  the  realistic  interpretation  of  the  sense  and  emo- 
tion of  his  text ;  he  is  able,  musically,  to  "  realise  "  both 
the  physical  and  psychological  elements  in  his  subject- 
matter  and  yet  to  retain  the  essential  value  of  the 
music  qua  music.  The  poetic  invention  of  Golenish- 
cheff-Koutousoff has  a  superlatively  beautiful  and  ap- 
propriate complement  in  the  musical  commentary  of 
his  collaborator,  and  those  who  may  have  difficulty  in 
appreciating  the  "daring"  methods  of  the  "Nursery" 
or  of  "Without  Sunlight"  will  here,  at  least,  find  mat- 
ter that  requires  no  effort  of  the  imagination,  but  ap- 


1/2  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

peals  immediately,  by  means  of  an  extraordinary  power 
and  delicate   charm,  to  the  emotional  sensibilities. 

" '  Death  and  the  Peasant,' "  writes  M.  Bellaigiie,  of 
the  first  of  this  series,  "  is  a  rondo,  but  a  rondo  of 
death."  It  is  night,  and  on  the  open  plain  Death  has 
seized  a  peasant,  broken  down  b}-  suffering  and  drink. 
To  the  tune  of  a  Trepak  (national  dance)  Death  sym- 
pathises with  his  wretched  captive  and  promises  him 
comforts  denied  him  by  Life.  "My  white  snow  shall 
cover  thee  and  warm  thy  perished  limbs."  Death 
calls  upon  the  tempest  to  prepare  the  bed  and  to  fur- 
nish a  slumber  song.  The  peasant  is  sung  to  sleep. 
"  Sleep,  my  friend ;  henceforth  be  happy.  See  !  the 
summer  returns  ....  the  sun  smiles  on  the  plains 
.  .  .  .  the  corn  ripens  .  .  .  ."  The  rocking  rhythm  of 
the  slumber  song  gives  place  to  the  Trepak  in  a  soft- 
ened version,  which  dies  away  in  a  sob,  and  in  the  three 
final  chords  is  reflected  the  gentle  smile  which  betokens 
the  peasant's  realisation  of  perfect  peace. 

The  "  Berceuse,"  which  succeeds,  plumbs  the  depths 
of  pathos.  To  a  mother  who  has  been  watching  all 
night  by  her  dying  child,  comes,  by  the  window,  Dawn; 
through  the  door  enters  Death,  who,  with  persuasive 
words  of  comfort  and  sympathy,  offers  to  relieve  her 
vigil.  "I  will  watch  over  him  even  better  than  thou; 
my  song  will  be  softer."  The  terrified  mother  protests 
and  pleads  in  vain.  "  In  my  arms,"  replies  Death,  "the 
child  will  sleep  well  .  .  .  .  "  and  after  a  final  outburst 
of  terror  from  the  mother,  in  a  passage  in  which  the 
music  itself  recalls  the  "  Erl-King "  of  Schubert  .  .  .  . 
"  there !  my  song  has  brought  slumber  ....  sleep, 
child,  sleep  .  .  .  ." 

The  next  song,  "  Serenade,"  is  the  most  lyrical  of  the 


"songs   and   dances   of   death."  1/3 

scries.  A  young  girl  nearing  her  end  lies  by  an  open 
window.  Death  comes  in  the  guise  of  a  youth  and 
proffers  deliverance  by  means  of  his  magic  power.  To 
the  rhythm  of  a  serenade,  he  sings  :  "  Take  thy  mirror; 
ni  thy  face  is  resplendent  beauty,  thy  cheeks  rival  the 
roses,  thy  locks  are  of  silk,  how  supple  thy  graceful 
body  ....  thy  breath  is  warm  like  the  sun;  I  am  en- 
tranced by  thy  charm.  To  possess  thee  I  will  bestow 
my  most  precious  possession."  The  girl  thus  won  over 
is  enfolded  in  the  deathly  embrace.  Her  breathing 
dies  down  ....  then  in  a  final  outburst  the  triumph- 
ant Serenader  exclaims,  "Thou  art  mine!"  The  dim- 
inishing tonic  pedal,  the  awful  silence,  and  the  last 
chord  of  exultation  succeeding  it,  produce  an  effect 
which  causes  the  heart  to  stand  still. 

The  last  song  is  called  "  The  Commander-in-Chief." 
It  is  exceedingly  dramatic,  but  the  translation  of  its 
drama  into  music  reveals  rather  more  of  the  conven- 
tional than  we  are  accustomed  to  in  the  work  of  Mous- 
sorgsk}'.  A  battle  has  been  raging  all  day.  "  A  few 
bars  suffice,"  says  M.  Bellaigue,  "to  sketch  the  corpse- 
strewn  plain,  the  Russian  plain,  the  immensity  of  which 
the  music  of  Russia  surpasses  itself  in  presenting  to  us." 
With  nightfall,  Death  appears  in  the  uniform  of  a 
general  riding  his  charger,  the  pale  moonlight  reveal- 
ing the  glistening  bones  of  the  skeleton  through  his 
diaphanous  garb.  He  climbs  on  to  a  mound  and 
mockingly  orders  a  parade.  Here  we  have  Death  not 
wooing  nor  pleading,  but  frankly  jeering  at  those  who 
relieve  him  of  so  much  labour.  On  his  face  we  per- 
ceive a  sardonic  expression.  The  music  is  in  martial 
strain;  in  this  number  the  note  of  tragedy  is  struck, 
but  the  pathos  is  not  of  an  intimate  quality.     In  the 


1/4  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

other  songs  of  the  group  Moussorgsky  makes  us  feel 
as  though  we  stood  between  Death  and  his  victim.  But 
in  "The  Commander-in-Chief"  we  feel  at  a  compara- 
tively safe  distance  and  are  spectators  of,  rather  than 
participators  in,  the  scene. 

That  these  collections — "Without  Sunlight"  and 
"  Songs  and  Dances  of  Death " — composed  between 
1874  and  1877,  were  never  performed  in  Russia  until 
the  year  1902,  is  not  necessarily  to  be  attributed  to  a 
positive  want  of  taste  and  judgment  in  the  country  of 
their  origin,  but  rather  to  the  circumstance  that  they 
were  absolutely  unlike  anythhig  that  had  yet  been 
written  in  the  form  of  songs.  They  were  first  pro- 
duced in  Paris  in  1896,  and  were  not  heard  in  Moscow 
until  1902.  The  critics  on  both  occasions  seem  to  have 
been  uniformly  favourable,  and  in  the  first-named  city 
a  full  appreciation  of  their  extraordinary  genius  was 
evinced  by  the  leading  writers  on  music.  The  Moscow 
critic,  Krouglikoff,  writing  on  the  subject  of  "  Without 
Sunlight,"  avowed  that  he  had  always  considered  this 
work  as  showing  ]\loussorgsky  at  his  feeblest — an 
opinion  which  he  had  shared,  it  is  necessary  to  add, 
with  such  strong  partisans  of  the  composer  as  Cesar 
Cui  and  even  his  friend  Stassoff.  "  But,"  continues 
Krouglikoff,  "I  must  make  full  amends  ....  'Within 
Four  Walls,'  'On  the  W'ater,'  'Ennui,'  have  completely 
humbled  me  ...  .  When  such  a  talent  as  this  illumin- 
ates one,  one  cannot  be  without  sunlight." 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  during  the  period  in 
which  the  above  works  were  composed,  and  indeed  in- 
termittently until  the  end  of  his  life,  Moussorgsky  was 
occupied  with  "  Khovanshchina."     This   labour,  how- 


"THE   P^AIR   AT    SOROTCHINSK/' 


1/5 


ever,  in  spite  of  such  obstacles  as  failing  health  and 
certain  excesses,  which  latter,  while  doubtless  provid- 
mg  some  little  mental  relief,  must  have  contributed  to 
the  physical  decadence,  does  not  constitute  the  sum  of 
his  creative  products.  In  1874  he  took  one  of  the  chor- 
uses from  "  Salammbo,"  the  work  which  had  already 
been  drawn  upon  for  several  numbers  in  "  Boris 
Godounoff,"  revised,  enlarged  and  polished  it.  In  its 
new  guise,  under  the  name  of  "Joshua,"  it  took  the 
form  of  a  vocal  solo  with  mixed  chorus,  and  was  com- 
pleted in  1877.  "Joshua"  is  cited  by  M.  Calvocoressi 
as  one  of  the  few  instances  in  which  an  Oriental  flavour 
figures  in  the  music  of  Moussorgsky. 

About  the  same  time  ^Moussorgsky  conceived  the  idea 
of  writing  an  operatic  work  in  which  he  could  dedicate 
the  chief  character  to  the  interpretation  of  his  friend 
Petroff,  the  singer  who  had  created  the  role  of  Varlaam 
in  "  Boris  Godounoff."  For  his  libretto  he  took  one 
of  the  "  Stories  of  ]\Iirgorod,"  by  Nicholas  Gogol,  the 
author  of  "  Marriage,"  entitled  "  The  Fair  at  Sorot- 
chinsk."  Here  again  he  drew  some  material  (that 
which  had  already  been  utilised  in  the  ill-fated 
"Mlada")  from  "Salammbo."  Of  this  work  only  a 
few  fragments  were  completed.  One  of  its  numbers, 
a  Hopak,  was  afterwards  revised  and  took  the  form  of 
a  piano  piece,  which,  later  on,  was  orchestrated  by 
Liadoff.  Such  of  the  fragments  of  "  The  Fair  at  Sor- 
otchinsk"  as  could  be  issued  were  published  in  1904 
and  were  performed  in  Paris  at  the  Theatre  des  Arts  in 
the  spring  of  1913. 

\\'e  are  now  entering  upon  what  may  be  regarded 
as  ^loussorgsky's  mental  as  well  as  physical  decline. 


176  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSlC. 

A  tendency  to  melancholy  \\"as  heightened  by  the  with- 
drawal of  "Boris  Godounoff"  in  1876  from  the  bill  of 
the  Imperial  Opera.  His  funds  were  extremely  low, 
and  as  the  small  salary  derived  from  his  employ  by 
the  State  was  insufficient,  he  began  to  undertake  the 
playing  of  accompaniments  at  concerts,  a  task  for  which 
he  was  particularly  well  qualified,  but  he  was  not  suc- 
cessful in  obtaining  much  work  of  the  kind. 

In  1878  the  death  of  his  close  friend  Petroff,  the 
widely-esteemed  singer,  was  very  deeply  felt  by  Mous- 
sorgsky,  and  for  the  rest  of  that  year  he  found  it  im- 
possible to  apply  himself  to  any  musical  work. 

In  1879,  after  a  change  of  State  employment,  he  ar- 
ranged a  long  concert  tour  in  South  Russia  with  Mme. 
Leonoff,  a  singer  of  repute  who  had  associated  herself 
with  his  compositions  and  had  figured  as  the  inn-keeper 
hi  "  Boris  Godounoff."  This  enterprise  was  a  marked 
success,  both  artists  receiving  every  demonstration  of 
appreciation  in  the  principal  vSouth  Russian  towns. 
During  the  tour  Moussorgsky,  encouraged  no  doubt  by 
the  warmth  of  his  reception,  composed  several  small 
piano  pieces,  inspired  by  his  immediate  geographic  en- 
vironment. The  "  Song  of  the  Flea  "^the  entirely  un- 
representative work  by  which  he  first  became  known  to 
English  audiences — was  also  produced. 

In  the  winter  of  1879-80  his  only  work  was  the  or- 
chestration of  his  contribution  to  "Mlada,"  which  im- 
mediately after  was  performed  by  the  Russian  Musi- 
cal Society,  under  the  title  of  "  Turkish  March."  During 
the  following  Summer  he  made  a  few  sketches  for  a 
suite  for  orchestra,  harp  and  piano,  which  seems  also 
to  have  been  inspired  by  his  Southern  tour,  and  worked 


moussorgsky's  death.  17; 

for  the  last  time  on  "  Khovanshchina."  He  gave  up 
his  appointment  and  lived  for  a  time  in  the  country, 
but  becoming  weaker  and  weaker  in  health,  he  w^as 
obliged  to  enter  the  military  hospital  in  St.  Peters- 
burg, where,  on  his  forty-second  birthday,  ]\larch  16, 
1 88 1,  he  died.  One  of  the  last  to  chat  with  him  at  his 
bedside  was  Balakireff,  who  survived  him  some  thirty 
years.  During  Aloussorgsky's  last  days  his  portrait 
was  painted  by  the  eminent  Russian  artist,  Repin,  and 
this  quite  ruthlessly  faithful  picture  provides  a  sad 
reminder  of  the  fearful  inroads  made  upon  its  subject's 
physique  by  the  demoralising  effect  of  poverty  and 
drink. 

Moussorgsky  was  buried  in  the  Alexander  Nevsky 
Cemetery,  and  his  grave  was  adorned  a  few  years  later 
by  a  monument  commissioned  by  various  friends  and 
admirers. 

Moussorgsky  has  himself  provided  us  wqth  material 
suitable  to  serve  as  epitaph  to  the  present  chronicle  of 
his  life  and  work  which  may  best  be  concluded  by  a 
quotation  from  his  brief  autobiography  :  "  By  virtue 
of  his  views  on  music  and  of  the  nature  of  his  composi- 
tions, Moussorgsky  stands  apart  from  all  existing  types 
of  musicians.  The  creed  of  his  artistic  faith  is  as  fol- 
lows :  '  Art  is  a  means  of  human  intercourse  and  not  in 
itself  an  end.'  The  whole  of  his  creative  activity  was 
dictated  by  this  guiding  principle.  Convinced,  like 
Virchow  and  Gervinus,  that  human  speech  is  strictly 
governed  by  musical  laws,  Moussorgsky  considers  that 
the  musical  reproduction,  not  of  isolated  manifesta- 
tions of  sensibility,  but  of  articulate  humanity  as  a 
whole  is  the  function  of  his  art.     He  holds  that  in  the 

13 


178  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

domain  of  the  musical  art,  reformers  such  as  Palestrina, 
Bach,  Gluck,  Beethoven,  Berhoz  and  Liszt  have  created 
certani  artistic  laws;  he  does  not  consider  these  laws 
as  immutable  but  as  strictly  subject  to  the  conditions 
of  evolution  and  progress  no  less  than  the  whole  world 
of  thought." 


VIIL 

RIMSKY-KORSAKOFF. 

IX  our  survey  of  the  life  and  work  of  Mousscrgsky 
we  have  acquired  sufficient  information  to  enable 
us  to  perceive  that  both  the  aims  and  achievements  of 
Rimsky-Korsakoff  were  in  sharp  contrast  to  those  of  his 
friend.  A  man  of  regular  habits,  he  had  a  respect  for 
tradition  which  was  to  lead  him  into  the  firm  conviction 
that  his  own  advancement  in  matters  artistic  was  best 
to  be  secured  by  an  evolutionary  and  not  a  revolutionary 
process.  Thus  it  was  that  after  having  made  his  mark 
as  a  composer  he  was  attacked  by  qualms  that  progress 
was  impossible  for  him  without  a  thorough  grasp  of 
that  scientific  knowledge  which  has  been  accumulated 
by  successive  observers  of  musical  evolution.  As  to 
the  actual  effect  upon  Rimsky-Korsakoff  of  this  re- 
tarded grounding  in  musical  theory,  there  are  certain 
definite  indications.  We  know  that  it  did  not  choke 
the  flow  of  his  inspiration,  but  at  the  same  time  one 
cannot  help  feeling  that  it  was  these  studies  which 
awakened  the  latent  academicism  to  bs  held  account- 
able  for  his   want   of  appreciation   of   Moussorgsky's 

179 


l8o  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

attempts  to  break  down  boundaries.  Further,  his 
adoption,  fairly  late  in  life,  of  that  type  of  symphonic 
development,  regarded  by  Russians  as  peculiarly  non- 
Russian  and  typical  of  the  occidental  and  more  especi- 
ally of  the  German  mind,  seems  likely  to  have  sprung 
from  the  same  origin.  On  more  than  one  occasion,  it 
is  interesting  to  note,  Moussorgsky  expressed  himself 
with  considerable  force  concerning  what  seemed  to  him 
a  thoroughly  misguided  step  on  his  friend's  part,  and 
when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the  two  composers  lived 
together  for  some  little  time,  one  cannot  but  feel  that 
the  bond  of  friendship  must  have  been  fairly  tough 
to  have  withstood  the  strain  exerted  upon  it,  not  only 
by  such  a  difference  in  temperament  as  their  opposed 
views  suggest,  but  by  the  difference  in  the  views  them- 
selves. 

It  has  been  seen  that  the  operatic  precept  of  Dar- 
gomijsky,  as  fulfilled  in  the  "Stone  Guest,"  became 
something  of  a  burden  to  the  "  Group."  A  survey  of 
his  dramatic  works  shows  that  w'hile  Rimsky-Korsakoff 
was  not  unmindful  of  his  obligation  to  produce  operas 
of  the  declamatory  type,  he  could  not  settle  down  into 
an  acceptance  of  the  hard  and  fast  canons  of  Dar- 
gomijsky.  Classification  of  his  operas  reveals  a  sort 
of  wandering  movement  in  search  of  a  definite  pro- 
cedure, and  towards  the  end  of  his  life  he  showed  a 
very  marked  sympathy  with  Wagner.  But  failure  to 
render  a  consistent  obeisance  to  the  "  Stone  Guest "  does 
not  imply  a  total  secession  from  the  tenets  of  Russian 
musical  nationalism,  and  Rimsky-Korsakoff  is  entitled 
to  be  regarded  as  an  upholder  of  the  Glinkist  tradition, 
since,  in  addition  to  his  fund  of  melodic  inspiration,  he 
was  a  determined  advocate  of  folk-music.     He  made 


rimsky-korsakoff's  childhood.  i8i 

a  remarkable  collection  of  popular  melodies  and  drew 
heavily  upon  it  in  building  up  his  operas.  His  per- 
sistent and  felicitous  employment  of  the  elements  of 
nationalism,  not  only  in  his  operas,  but  in  his  orches- 
tral works  and  in  some  of  his  songs,  seems  to  warrant 
our  considering  him  as  the  culminating  figure  in  the 
nationalistic  movement. 

Nicholas  Andreievich  Rimsky-Korsakoff  was  born 
at  Tikhvin  in  the  Government  of  Novgorod,  on  March 
1 8,  1844.  He  shared  with  his  colleagues,  Balakireff 
and  Moussorgsky,  the  great  advantage  of  spending  his 
early  life  in  the  country — one  which  was  denied  Boro- 
din. On  his  father's  estate  were  four  Jews  who  formed 
a  little  band  which  was  called  upon  to  supply  music 
at  all  social  functions  taking  place  under  the  Korsa- 
koff's roof.  From  the  music  heard  on  these  occasions 
the  child  obtained  his  first  impressions  of  the  art.  At 
the  age  of  six  he  received  his  first  piano  lessons,  and 
three  years  later  the  creative  impulse  was  already  mani- 
festing itself.  His  parents,  like  those  of  Moussorgsky, 
do  not  appear  to  have  had  any  desire  to  stifle  their  son's 
taste  for  music,  but  they  had  no  thought  of  his  adopt- 
ing any  other  vocation  than  that  of  the  navy,  which 
was  a  family  tradition.  I^overs  of  Kipling  will  re- 
member a  string  of  names  cited  in  "  Stalky  and  Co."* 
borne  by  "  sons  of  officers  in  one  or  other  of  the  ser- 
vices." In  Russia,  it  seems,  the  name  of  Rimsky-Kor- 
sakoff has  in  some  degree  a  like  association.  In  1856, 
when  twelve  years  of  age,  young  Nicholas  was  taken 
to  the  St.  Petersburg  Naval  College.     He  contrived  to 

*   "  The  Flag  of  their  Country." 


1 82  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

leaven  the  ordinary  curriculum  of  that  establishment 
with  musical  studies,  taking  lessons  on  the  piano  and 
'cello,  his  piano  master,  Kanille  by  name,  giving  him 
some  instruction  in  composition. 

In  1 86 1  the  youth  made  the  acquamtance  of  Bala- 
kireff,  and  was  brought  into  touch,  in  consequence,  with 
Cui,  Moussorgsky  and  Borodin,  with  the  quite  natural 
result  that  he  then  began  to  take  his  musical  studies 
very  seriously.  He  commenced  a  course  of  lessons 
with  Balakireff,  and  these  continued  for  about  a  year, 
until,  in  1862,  Rimsky-Korsakoff  found  himself 
obliged  to  undertake  the  three  years'  cruise  in  foreign 
waters  which  serves  to  conclude  the  education  of  the 
naval  cadet.  But,  besides  increasing  his  technical  re- 
sources, his  intercourse  with  the  leader  of  the  "  coterie  " 
had  already  made  a  very  deep  impression  upon  him, 
and  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  young  sailor-musician 
was  unwilling  to  sever  his  connection  with  his  precep- 
tor for  so  long  a  period.  It  was  therefore  arranged 
that  correspondence  should  be  kept  up  as  far  as  pos- 
sible during  the  cruise,  and  thus  it  was  that  Rimsky- 
Korsakoff  was  able  to  improve  himself  musically  dur- 
ing his  tour  of  the  world  by  submitting  his  essays  in 
composition  to  Balakireff  and  receiving  from  him, 
at  the  first  available  port,  a  detailed  criticism  of  his 
work.  A  letter  sent  home  to  Cui  during  the  voyage 
shows  pretty  plainly  that  Rimsky-Korsakoff  was  fully 
alive  to  the  discomforts  of  seafaring,  but  some  of  his 
later  compositions  prove  that  he  was  by  no  means  de- 
void of  a  poetic  appreciation  of  his  marine  surround- 
ings. The  experiences  referred  to  in  this  letter  did 
not  at  any  rate  damp  his  musical  ardour,  and  during 
this  cruise  on  the  "  Almaz  "  ("  Diamond  "),  he  composed 


FIRST  RUSSIAN   SYMPHONY.  1 83 

and  revised  the  symphony  which  bears  the  distinction 
of  being  the  first  work  in  that  form  by  a  Russian  com- 
poser. 

In  1865,  on  the  conclusion  of  his  naval  cruise,  Rim- 
sky-Korsakoff  resumed  his  personal  association  with 
Balakireff  and  the  other  members  of  the  *'  Group,"  and 
in  December  of  that  year  the  symphony  was  given  its 
initial  performance  by  Balakireff  at  a  concert  of  the 
Free  School  directed  by  him.  The  public  showed  a 
great  interest  in  the  work,  an  interest  which  naturally 
became  much  keener  when  a  young  naval  lieutenant' 
came  forward  to  acknowledge  their  plaudits. 

In  1866  we  find  him  inaugurating  the  friendship 
with  Moussorgsky  which  lasted  until  the  latter's  death 
in  1 88 1,  and  the  two  composers,  as  we  learn  from  the 
records  of  Mme.  Shestakoff,  the  sister  of  Glinka, 
always  came  earlier  than  the  rest  of  the  little  circle  to 
their  meetings,  in  order  to  exchange  notes  and  impres- 
sions. 

It  seems  likely  that  the  importance  of  folk-lore  as  a 
basis  of  nationalistic  music  formed  the  subject  of  some 
of  their  confabulations,  for  in  the  following  year,  1867, 
Rimsky-Korsakoff,  whilst  perusing  some  of  the  legends 
in  which  the  Russian  literature  is  so  rich,  was  so 
vividly  impressed  by  that  of  "  Sadko  "  that  he  decided 
to  compose  a  symphonic  version  of  the  story.  "  Sadko  " 
(Op.  5),  which  is  the  first  orchestral  poem  ever  composed 
by  a  Russian,  was  one  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  poetic 
inspiration  derived  from  the  composer's  term  of 
cruising.  Its  basis  is  an  old  legend  concerning  a 
merchant-minstrel  whose  impassioned  performance  on 
the  *'  guslee "  during  a  sojourn  in  a  submarine  king- 
dom causes  storms  and  shipwrecks.     As  we  shall  have 


184  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSlC. 

later  to  refer  to  an  opera  on  the  same  subject  written 
nearly  thirty  years  after  the  symphonic  poem,  our 
detailed  treatment  of  the  maritime  literary  material 
common  to  both  works  is  deferred.  "  Sadko  "  is  scored 
for  a  full  orchestra  with  bass-drum,  cymbals  and 
gong,  and,  as  a  piece  of  thorough-going  "  programme 
music,"  is  closely  related  to  the  subject  illustrated.  It 
reveals  the  composer's  early  power  of  brilliant  orches- 
tration, his  feeling  for  splendid  effects  of  colour  and 
above  all  his  possession  of  humour.  It  was  first  per- 
formed by  the  German  Musical  Union  at  Altenburg 
in  1876,  but  was  not  heard  in  St.  Petersburg  until  1882, 
when  it  achieved  a  success. 

Soon  after  the  completion  of  "Sadko"  Rimsky-Kor- 
sakoff  began  his  orchestral  fantasia  on  Serbian  themes 
(Op.  6).  This  work  was  the  mems  of  attracting  the 
notice  of  Tchaikovsky,  as  it  was  produced  at  a  charity 
concert  at  which  he  made  his  first  appearance  as  con- 
ductor. Rimsky-Korsakoff's  fantasia  was  rather  scorn- 
fully received  by  the  critics,  but  Tchaikovsky  had  en- 
joyed a  good  opportunit}',  during  rehearsals,  of  gain- 
ing a  close  acquaintance  with  the  work  and  had  pre- 
viously heard  encomiastic  reports  of  its  composer  from 
Balakireff.  Favourably  impressed  with  the  fantasia, 
and  convinced  that  the  St.  Petersburg  circle  were  well- 
disposed  towards  him,  Tchaikovsky  hastened  to  show 
his  friendly  esteem  by  publishing  an  article  in  the  paper 
w^hich  had  made  light  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  powers, 
expressing  himself  as  \ery  highly  pleased  with  the 
work.  This  was  his  first  essay  in  musical  criticism,  and 
the  beginning  of  a  friendship  which  was  kept  up  by 
correspondence  for  many  years. 

Rimsky-Korsakoff  began  now  to  turn  his  attention 


Korsakoff's  operatic  principles.  185 

to  the  composition  of  operas — a  sphere  of  work  which 
was  to  form  11  permanent  attraction  for  hnn  and  in 
which  he  became  the  most  fertile  of  all  the  Russian 
school.  His  operatic  career  shows  plainly  enough  the 
obstacles  which  bestrew  the-  path  of  the  conscientious 
composer  of  music-drama  who  is  anxious  to  preserve 
the  unities.  The  legacy  of  Dargomijsky — the  princi- 
ples of  the  "  Stone  Guest " — became  the  source  of  much 
artistic  doubt,  which  troubled  Rimsky-Korsakoff  almost 
to  the  end  of  his  life.  Cheshikin,  in  his  survey  of  Rus- 
sian opera,  likens  the  case  of  the  Russian  operatic  com- 
poser to  that  of  Columbus  starting  out  to  find  India 
and  discovering  America;  himself  by  no  means 
satisfied  with  the  result,  his  followers  more  or  less  con- 
tented. The  operatic  composer,  says  Cheshikin,  has  not 
succeeded  in  attaining  his  ideal,  but  has  introduced 
many  novel  features  which  may  be  calculated  to  satisfy 
the  requirements  of  even  the  most  fastidious  opera- 
goer. 

Rimsky-Korsakoff,  despite  his  vacillations  in  the  mat- 
ter of  vocal  writing,  will  be  found  to  have  adhered 
to  one  of  the  most  important  axioms  formulated  by 
Cui  in  his  manifesto,  namely,  that  the  music  of  an 
opera  must  have  a  consistent  intrinsic  value  as  music 
apart  from  its  interpretative  mission.  Another  feature 
of  his  operatic  work  is  his  faithfulness  to  Russian 
subject-matter.  In  his  fifteen  operas  there  are  but 
three  exceptions.  One  treats  of  Polish  life  and  is  by 
a  Russian  librettist,  the  second  is  based  upon  a  drama 
of  ancient  Rome  by  Mey,  and  the  third  takes  as  its 
libretto  a  famous  work  of  Pushkin.  A  sufficiently 
striking  comparison  can  here  be  made  which  illustrates 
a    point    to    be    touched    upon    later.      Of    the    nine- 


1 86  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

teen  operas  of  Rubinstein  but  eight  have  Russian 
libretti  and  in  one  of  these,  "  Demon "  (Lermontoff), 
the  choice  does  not  seem  to  have  been  the  outcome  of 
an\'  predilection  for  nationalism,  but  rather  a  desire  to 
meet  a  demand  for  nationalistic  opera  to  which  the  en- 
couragement given  to  Moussorgsky  by  the  imperial 
operatic  authorities  (in  1872)  appeared  to  testify. 

In  "  Pskovitianka,"  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  first  opera 
— begun  in  1870 — we  find  evidence  pointing  to  an 
anxiety  to  produce  a  work  thoroughly  representative  of 
the  prevailing  views  as  to  operatic  construction.  The 
solo-vocal  portions  are  cast  in  mezzo-recitative.  The 
chorus  is  given  great  prominence,  there  is  a  liberal  use 
of  folk-song,  and  the  subject,  which  belongs  to  Russian 
history,  is  taken  from  a  drama  by  the  native  poet,  Leo 
.Mey. 

The  drama  deals  with  events  which  occurred  in  the 
reign  of  Ivan  the  Terrible  (1547-84),  and  touches  upon 
the  cherished  privilege  of  self-government  which  in 
those  times  attached  to  certain  Russian  cities.  At  the 
opening  of  the  play  the  city  of  Novgorod  has  just  been 
deprived  of  its  freedom,  and  in  the  endeavour  to 
resist  the  interference  of  Ivan,  a  fearful  holocaust  has 
befallen  its  people.  Pskoff,  another  autonomous  city 
— the  scene  of  the  drama — is  in  dread  of  a  similar  fate, 
anticipated  as  an  inevitable  consequence  of  Ivan's 
threatened  advent.  The  citizens  of  Pskoff,  meeting  in 
council,  are  faced  with  two  alternatives;  the  first,  ad- 
vanced by  Prince  Tokmakoff,  the  Governor,  is  sub- 
mission to  the  tyrant ;  the  second,  impetuously  advo- 
cated by  the  free-spirited  Michael  Toucha,  the  son  of 
the  Mayor  (posadnik),  is  that  of  unqualified  resistance 
and  an  uncompromising  claim  to  the  retention  of  civic 


PLOT  OF  ''pskOvitiaxka."  i8; 

liberty.  The  citizens  choose  the  former,  but  Toucha 
gains  the  support  of  the  militia.  Toucha  is  in  love 
with  Olga  (the  "Maid  of  Pskoff"),  the  supposed 
daughter  of  Tokmakoff,  but  the  prince  does  not  favour 
the  \oung  man's  suit.  When  the  Czar  arrives  at  the 
Governor's  house  he  is  struck  by  Olga's  resemblance 
to  a  former  io\er,  \>ra  Sheloga,  and  on  definitely 
identif}4ng  her  as  his  own  daughter,  he  decides  to  re- 
nounce his  tyrannical  plans  respecting  the  city's  future. 
The  first  scene  of  the  last  act  introduces  a  royal  hunt, 
after  the  passing  of  which  Toucha  makes  an  endeavour 
to  win  Olga  over  from  her  allegiance  to  Ivan.  This  is 
interrupted  by  myrmidons  of  the  noble  Matuta,  who 
is  favoured  by  Tokmakoff  as  Toucha's  rival  for  Olga's 
hand.  Tcucha  is  wounded  and  Olga  is  carried  off.  In 
the  last  scene  the  news  of  his  newly-found  daughter's 
abduction  is  brought  to  the  Czar  in  his  tent.  He  furi- 
ously demands  Olga's  immediate  deliverance,  and,  on 
joining  him,  she  manages  to  extract  a  promise  of  par- 
don for  the  insurgent  Toucha.  Hardly  is  the  point 
settled  when  Toucha,  at  the  he:id  of  his  militia,  makes 
an  attack  upon  the  royal  guard,  and  Olga,  anxious  to 
reassure  her  lover  as  to  his  future  safety,  and  to  give 
him  news  of  an  amnesty  granted  to  Pskoff,  on 
leiving  the  tent  for  this  purpose  is  accidentally 
killed  by  the  combatants  outside.  The  drama  ends 
with  the  grief  of  Ivan,  prostrate  on  the  corpse  of  his 
daughter. 

"  Pskovitianka  "  is  in  three  acts,  subdivided  into  five 
tableaux,  and,  unlike  the  operas  of  Moussorgsky,  it  has 
a  self-contained  overture  which  consists  of  a  develop- 
ment of  the  themes  subsequently  associated  respec- 
tively with  Ivan,  Toucha  and  Olga.      The  two  latter 


1 88  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

are  recognisable  as  folk-songs,  together  with  such 
numbers  as  Olga's  song  of  the  strawberry-picker, 
Toucha's  to  the  cuckoo,  Olga's  priyer  in  the  -firsi: 
tableau  of  Act  I,  the  song  of  the  rebels  in  the  second 
tableau  and  the  plaint  of  the  citizens  at  the  beginning 
of  Act  II.  The  penultimate  and  anti-penultimate  arc 
to  be  found  in  Balakireff's  collection  and  are  actually 
culled  from  the  Go\ernment  of  Nijni-Novgorod.  A 
feature  of  the  work  worthy  of  notice  is  the  bell  effect 
which  accompanies  the  summoning  of  the  citizens  of 
the  council.  The  actual  bell,  originally  used,  was,  it 
has  been  stated,  an  object  of  mistrust  to  the  censor, 
owing  to  the  association  of  bells  with  political  move- 
ments in  Russia,  and  the  orchestral  imitation  was  there- 
fore substituted.  The  Russian  fondness  for  bells  is  a 
byword,  and  the  characteristic  has  not  escaped  the  at- 
tention of  composers,  some  of  whom  have  succeeded— 
Borcdin  and  Moussorgsky,  for  instance — in  repro- 
ducing the  bell-sound  with  extraordinary  realism.* 

Rimsky-Korsakoff  does  not  seem  to  have  been  very 
much  at  home  in  employing  the  meszo-recitathe  in 
"  Pskovitianka,"  and  it  is  somewhat  dry  in  character. 
But  his  harmonic  colouring,  his  fine  choruses  and  his 
brilliant  orchestration  unite  in  rendering  this  work  a 
very  notable  first  venture  in  the  theatre.  It  was  com- 
pleted in  1872  and  was  given  its  first  performance  at 
the  Maryinsky  Theatre,  St.  Petersburg,  on  January  i, 
1873.  Accounts  vary  as  to  its  reception.  It  is  re- 
corded that  exception  was  taken  to  certain  "  audacious" 
harmonic     innovations— a     judgment     which     begins 


*  The  latest  employment  of  a  bell-effect  by  a  Russian  com- 
poser is  in  one  of  Stravinsky's  songs. 


KORSAKOFF   APPOINTED    PROFESSOR.  I  89 

to  sound  somewhat  familiar!  That  "  Pskovitianka " 
was  given  sixteen  performances  might  really  be  con- 
sidered to  suggest  that  it  was  not  an  unpopular  work, 
but  its  subsequent  treatment — it  was  neglected  until  as 
long  after  as  1895 — hardly  bears  out  the  theory.  It 
was  revived  by  a  musical  society  in  St.  Petersburg  and 
performed  at  the  Panaieff  Theatre,  having  been  re- 
vised and  much  improved  by  the  composer  for  this  oc- 
casion. 

In  1 87 1  Rimsky-Korsakoff  accepted  the  invitation  of 
Asanchevsky,  whose  name  will  be  recalled  as  belong- 
ing to  one  of  Moussorgsky's  earliest  musical  acquaint- 
ances— now  at  the  head  of  the  conservatorium  at  St. 
Petersburg — to  join  the  staff  of  that  institution,  and 
he  was  appointed  professor  of  composition  and  orches- 
tration. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  and  Moussorgsky  estab- 
lished themselves  under  one  roof.  While  living  to- 
gether they  actually  worked  at  the  same  table  upon 
"Pskovitianka"  and  "  Khovanshchina "  respectively. 
They  w^re  further  engaged  during  the  winter  of  187 1-2 
on  their  appointed  contributions  to  the  joint  ''Mlada" 
production— a  commission  shared  by  them  wdth  Cui  and 
Borodin.  This  finished,  Rimsky-Korsakoff,  already 
displaying  a  superior  talent  for  orchestration,  took  in 
hand  Dargomijsky's  "Stone  Guest." 

Rimsky-Korsakoff  seems  in  a  measure  to  have  been 
a  victim  to  that  same  hesitation  in  the  choice  of  a  mould 
for  his  symphonic  works  as  has  been  noted  in  connec- 
tion with  his  operas.  His  first  symphony  was  written 
entirely  on  classical  lines — likewiss  his  third.  But  the 
"work  which  we  have  now  to  mention,  "  Antar  "  (Op.  9), 
he    called    a    symphonic    suite,    adding    a    sub-title. 


I  go  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

"  Second  Symphony."  In  reality,  it  is  a  symphonic  pic- 
ture in  four  sections.  "  Antar,"  scored  for  full  or- 
chestra, is  a  remarkably  fine  piece  of  descriptive  music. 
Its  "programme,"  which  prefaces  the  score  is  derived 
from  an  Arab  story  by  Sennkovsky.  The  work  is  dedi- 
cated to  Cui,  and  as  the  composer-critic  wrote  a  notice 
upon  it  (in  1886)  in  which  the  scheme  is  set  forth,  we 
propose  to  quote  his  article. 

"  The  subject,"  wrote  Cui,  "  is  taken  from  an  oriental 
tale.'  Antar,  weary  of  human  ingratitude,  retires  into 
the  desert.  Suddenly  there  appears  a  gazelle  fleeing 
from  a  gigantic  bird.  Antar  kills  the  monster,  saves 
the  gazelle,  falls  asleep  and  is  transported  in  his 
dreams  to  a  magnificent  palace  where  he  is  captivated 
by  charming  songs  and  dances;  the  fairy*  who  dwells 
in  the  palace  premises  him  the  three  greatest  joys  of 
life.  Awakening  from  his  dream  he  finds  himself  back 
in  the  desert.  This  is  the  programme  of  the  first  part. 
It  is  an  admirable  specimen  of  descriptive  music.  The 
sombre  chords  depicting  the  desert,  the  graceful 
gazelle's  race  for  life,  the  cumbrous  flight  of  the  winged 
monster,  expressed  by  sinister  harmonies  [sic]  finally 
the  dances  full  of  voluptuous  abandon,  all  give 
evidence  of  abundant  inspiration.  Only  in  the  dances, 
the  subject  is  too  short  for  their  length  and  is  thus  re- 
peated too  often.  The  second  part,  the  joy  of  ven- 
geance, is  full  of  barbaric  energy,  of  bloodthirsty 
violence  which  characterises  alike  the  music  and  its  or- 
chestration. The  third  part,  the  joy  of  power,  con- 
sists of  a  glittering  oriental  march  ornamented  with 
arabesques  both  novel  and  charming.      The  last  part, 


The  fairy  Gul-Nazar  turns  out  to  be  the  gaz3lle  transformed. 


KORSAKOFF    AS    SELF-TEACHER.  19I 

the  joy  of  love,  is  the  culminating  point  of  the  work. 
The  poetry  of  passion  is  wonderfully  rendered  in  terms 
of  music.  Two  more  observations  in  reference  to 
*  Antar.'  In  crder  to  enhance  the  appeal  of  local  colour 
Korsakoff  makes  use  of  three  Arab  themes  and  the  sym- 
phony is  invested  with  a  considerable  cohesion  by  the 
circumstance  that  despite  the  dissimilarity  in  character 
of  the  four  sections  the  '  Antar '  theme  has  been  intro- 
duced into  each." 

We  come  now  to  the  epoch  in  Rimsky-Korsakoff's 
career  at  which,  after  having  given  indisputable  proofs 
of  his  genius  in  the  domain  of  operatic  and  symphonic 
art,  and  having  written  twenty-two  songs,  some  of 
which  are  among  the  best  to  be  found  in  the  Russian 
treasury  of  vocal  music,  he  began  to  feel  that  his  techni- 
cal knowledge  and  equipment  were  insufficient.  To  ac- 
count for  this  more  or  less  sudden  realisation  does  not 
seem  difficult  if  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  he  had  recently 
begun  to  teach,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  it  was  the 
need  for  a  more  facile  instrument  of  instruction  rather 
than  an  improved  medium  of  expression  which  was  so 
strongly  felt.  Whatever  the  cause,  the  result  may  be 
traced  in  the  output  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff  at  this  time, 
such  as  the  six  variations  on  the  theme  "  B-a-c-h  "  for 
piano  and  the  six  fugues.  Op.  17,  written  during  the 
period  of  self-tutorial  discipline.  These  works  were 
composed  when  their  creator  was  immersed  in  text- 
books, which  must  obviously  have  emanated  from  a 
western  source.  His  own  native  style  got  the  upper 
hand  only  when  he  wrote  as  a  result  of  direct  in- 
spiration. 

Five  years  after  this  resolve  was  made,  Tchaikov- 
sky, writing  to  Mme.  von  Meek,  describes,  in  terms  of 


ig2  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

the  Tchaikcvskian  point  of  view,  the  state  of  mind 
which  prompted  it.  "  I  possess  a  letter  dating  from 
that  time  which  moved  me  very  deeply.  Rimsky-Kor- 
sakoff  was  overcome  by  despair  when  he  realised  how 
many  unprofitable  years  he  had  wasted,  and  that  he  was 
following-  a  read  which  led  nowhere.  He  began  to 
study  with  such  zeal  that  the  theory  of  the  schools  soon 
became  to  him  an  indispensable  atmosphere.  During 
one  summer  he  achieved  innumerable  exercises  in  coun- 
terpoint and  sixty-four  fugues,  ten  of  which  he  sent  me 
for  inspection.  From  contempt  of  the  schools,  Rim- 
sky-Korsakoff  suddenly  went  over  to  the  cult  of  musical 
technique  ....  At  present  (1877)  he  appears  to  be 
passing  through  a  crisis,  and  it  is  hard  to  predict  how  it 
will  end." 

In  an  earlier  letter  to  Rimsky-Korsakoff  himself  Tin 
1875)  Tchaikovsky  wrote  :  "You  must  know  how  I  ad- 
mire and  bow  down  before  your  artistic  modesty  and 
your  great  strength  of  character  !  These  innumerable 
counterpoints,  these  sixty  fugues,  and  all  the  other  musi- 
cal intricacies  which  you  have  accomplished — all  these 
things  from  a  man  who  had  already  produced  a 
"  Sadko  "  eight  years  previously — are  the  exploits  of  a 

hero How  small,  poor,  self-satisfied  and  naive 

I  feel  in  comparison  with  you  !  I  am  a  mere  artisan  in 
composition,  but  you  will  be  an  artist,  in  the   fullest 

sense  of  the  word I   am  really  convinced  that 

with  your  immense  gifts — and  the  ideal  conscientious- 
ness with  which  you  approach  your  work — you  will 
produce  music  that  must  far  surpass  all  which  so  far 
has  been  composed  in  Russia.  I  await  your  ten  fugues 
with  keen  impatience " 

A    composition    which    proves    that    Tchaikovsky's 


MUSICIAN   AND    SAILOR   TOO.  1 93 

fears,  expressed  in  the  first  quoted  of  these  letters,  were 
not  by  any  means  groundless,  is  the  string-  quartet  (Op. 
12)  written  for  a  competition  organised  by  the  Imperial 
Society  of  Music.  This,  a  singularly  dull  work,  seems 
quite  obviously  to  have  been  composed  as  an  exercise 
in  classic  style.  It  contains  no  feature  which  would 
suggest  that  it  was  written  by  a  master  in  whose  work 
brilliancy  of  effect  was  so  consistent. 

In  1873  Rimsky-Korsakoff  decided  finally  to  sever 
his  connection  with  the  Nav)-.  It  seems  a  little  curious 
that  his  professorship,  already  held  for  two  years, 
should  not  sooner  have  rendered  this  resignation  im- 
perative. And  if  we  should  search  for  an  odder  or 
more  incongruous  combination  than  Moussorgsky  the 
guardsman  and  liberator  of  opera,  it  is  surely  upon  the 
figure  of  the  naval  officer  attending  the  conservatorium 
as  instructor  in  musical  theoretics  that  our  choice  would 
fall.  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  it  was  not  with  the  ob- 
ject of  creating  a  precedential  alliance  between  the  arts 
of  war  and  peace  that  the  Grand  Duke  Constantin 
Nicholaevich  obtained  for  Korsakoff  the  post  of  In- 
spector of  Naval  Bands,  but  rather  as  a  means  of  sup- 
plementing a  somewhat  depleted  income.  This  inspec- 
torship was  held  by  the  composer  until  1884. 

The  year  under  review  also  saw  the  beginning  of  the 
fine  collection  of  folk-songs  (Op.  24),  w-hich  were  pub- 
lished in  1877.  Rimsky-Korsakoff  was  not  long  in  put- 
ting some  of  these  tunes  to  a  thematic  use.  In  the  "  Sin- 
fonietta  on  Russian  Themes"  (Op.  31),  which  is  in 
three  movements,  he  employed  no  less  than  five  of 
them.  Others  appear  in  the  works  of  Moussorgsky 
and  Tchaikovsky,  both  of  whom  contributed  to  the 
collection.     The  third  symphony  (Op.  32),  in  four  move- 

14 


194  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

ments  (moderato  assai,  scherzo,  andante,  leading  to 
allegro  con  spirito)  in  which  the  composer  is  seen 
favouring  the  "  old  and  archaic  musical  forms,"  and 
the  symphonic  tale  (Op.  20)  based  on  the  prologue  from 
Pushkin's  "  Russian  and  Ludmilla,"  both  belong  to  this 
year  which  saw  the  production  of  "  Pskovitianka." 

But  there  was  an  event  of  at  least  equal  importance  to 
those  already  chronicled  which  rendered  the  year  1872 
a  notable  epoch  in  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  career.  This 
was  his  marriage  with  Nadejda  Pourgold.  The  name 
of  Pourgold  soon  becomes  familiar  to  the  student  of 
Russian  musical  history.  Alexandra  Pourgold,  who 
became  Mme.  Molas,  was  a  singer  possessing  quite  ex- 
ceptional powers  of  artistic  perceptivity.  She  was  a 
pupil  of  Dargomijsky,  and  almost  invariably  under- 
took the  female  characters  in  those  operas,  which  like 
"  Boris  Godounoff,"  received  "  scratch  "  performances  at 
the  periodical  gatherings  of  the  "  Five "  and  their 
friends.  As  for  the  lady  who  became  the  wife  of  Rim- 
sky-Korsakoff,  one  can  but  surmise  that  the  suitability 
of  the  union  can  hardly  have  been  the  subject  of  any 
doubt  on  the  part  of  those  who  knew  the  couple.  In 
1868  we  find  Nadejda  Nicholaievna  as  "orchestra"  (at 
the  piano)  in  the  parlour  performance  of  "  Boris."  In 
1 87 1  she  is  asserting  her  judgment  in  advising  the  modi- 
fication of  certain  chords  in  Tchaikovsky's  "  Romeo 
and  Juliet "  overture — submitted  for  the  approval  of 
Balakireff  who  took  a  great  interest  in  this  work — a 
suggestion  of  which  Tchaikovsky  readily  availed  him- 
self. In  the  winter  of  1872-3  her  offer  to  make  a  piano 
arrangement  of  the  finale  of  the  ]\Ialo-Russian  sym- 
phony, is  accepted  with  enthusiasm  and  it  is  to  her  that 
Borodin   dedicated   his   first   string   quartet   which   he 


KORSAKOFF    AS    "MUSICAL   ARCHAEOLOGIST."       195 

finished  in  1878,  surely  a  tribute  unique  in  the  history 
of  Woman !  She  also  assisted  in  the  reduction  of 
Borodin's  "  Prince  Igor,"  and  has  since  lent  similar  aid 
to  her  husband. 

In  1874  Balakireff  relinquished  his  post  as  conduc- 
tor of  the  Free  School  concerts  and  was  succeeded  by 
Rimsky-Korsakoff,  who  filled  the  position  until  1881. 
He  appears  at  this  time  to  have  combined  the  study  of 
musical  theory  with  the  formation  of  certain  operatic 
plans,  an  odd  enough  mixture  of  occupations  from  the 
academic  point  of  view.  A  letter  written  by  Borodin 
in  1875  shows  the  attitude  of  the  writer  towards  his 
colleague's  industry.  Borodin,  reporting  general  pro- 
gress, speaks  of  the  operatic  activity  of  Cui  and  Mous- 
sorgsky ;  '*  Rimsky-Korsakoff,"  he  continues,  *'  is  work- 
ing for  the  Free  School,  he  writes  counterpoint  and 
teaches  his  pupils  all  kinds  of  musical  devices.  He  is 
writing  a  monumental  course  of  instrumentation  which 
will  be  without  a  rival,  but  he,  also,  has  no  leisure  and 

has  abandoned  his  work ]\Iany  people  have  been 

distressed  to  see  Korsakoff  take  a  retrograde  step  and 
give  himself  up  to  the  study  of  musical  archaeology. 
For  myself  I  quite  understand  it,  and  it  does  not 
trouble  me." 

1877  saw  the  publication  of  the  first  collection  of 
folk-songs  and  is  the  date  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  con- 
tribution to  the  "  Paraphrases  "  or  "  Chopsticks  "  suite 
devised  by  Borodin.  The  "  work "  referred  to  by 
Borodin  in  the  above-quoted  letter  is  doubtless  Rim- 
sky-Korsakoff's second  opera,  "  A  Night  in  IMay,"  fin- 
ished in  1878.  For  its  subject  he  went  to  one  of 
Gogol's  fantastically  humorous  tales  which  were  written 
at  the  suggestion  of  Pushkin.     As  will   be   seen  the 


196  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

character  of  the  story  involved  a  complete  change  of 
sentiment,   the   subject   calling    for   something   far   re- 
moved from  the  stern  realism  of  "  Pskovitianka,"  and 
the  composer,  almost  wholly   forsaking  the  declama- 
tory method,  introduced  a  note  of  brightness  and  of 
humour   which    was   well    and    clearly    sounded    in    a 
fund  of  melody  and  lyricism.     The  story  concerns  a 
headman  of  a  lakeside  village,  his  son  Levko,  who  is 
in  love  with  Hanna,  a  village  maiden,  and  a  haunted 
house  to  which  a  legend  attaches.     The  headman  is  also 
making  advances  to  Hanna,  and  Levko,  who  has  just 
made  up  his  mind  to  solicit  his  father's  consent  to  his 
marriage,  is  so  disgusted  on  hearing  of  the  parental 
plans  that  he  determines  to  give  his  father  a  shock,  and 
organises  a  sort  of  riotous  orgy  during  which  the  head- 
man's house  is  bombarded.     In  the  confusion  the  head- 
man, under  the  impression  that  he  has  caught  one  of 
the  miscreants,   locks   up   his   sister-in-law,   and   other 
ridiculous  mistakes  are  made.     Levko  gets  into  touch 
with  the  russalka  who  frequents  the  haunted  house,  and 
when  he  succeeds  in  rendering  her  a  service,  she  gives 
him  a  written  request  to  his  father  that  the  hoped-for 
match  shall  be  sanctioned.     Her  handwriting  is  taken 
for  that  of  the  commissary  and  Levko  and  Hanna  are 
made  happy.     This  is  but  the  bare  outline  of  a  some- 
what complicated  libretto  into  which  the  element  of 
the  supernatural  enters  very   largely.     The  legend  of 
the  haunted  house  allows  the  introduction  of  a  beauti- 
ful chorus  of  russalki.     The  work  is  not,  however,  en- 
tirely comic  in  character,  and,  as  a  contrast  to  the  fan- 
tastic element  in  the  second  act,  the  music  of  the  first  is 
couched  in  a  vein  of  tender  melancholy.     In  this  opera 
Rimsky-Korsakoff's  delicate  and  capricious  humour  is 


"THE    SXOW-MAIUEX."  I9; 

fully  displayed,  as  well  it  might  be,  in  the  musical 
interpretation  of  such  a  master  as  Gogol.  "A  Night 
in  May,"  which  is  in  three  acts,  was  produced  at  the 
]\Iaryinsky  Theitrc,  St.  Petersburg,  in  January,  1880, 
and  was  revived  in  October,  1894.  It  is  dedicated  to  the 
composer's  wife. 

Rimsky-Korsakoff's  next  important  venture  was  a 
further  opera,  begun  in  the  summer  of  1880.  The 
"  Snow-]^Iaiden  "  (Snegourochka),  which  is  to  be  classi- 
fied as  a  melodic  opera,  impresses  one  with  the  inten- 
sity of  its  composer's  love  of  nature  and  his  earnest  ob- 
servation of  its  various  phenomena.  It  is  clear  that  the 
rustic  surroundings  of  his  }'outh  must  have  engendered 
something  more  than  a  desire  to  picture  the  people  in 
song,  for  in  "  The  Snow-Maiden "  we  are  face  to  face 
with  a  thoroughly  poetic  presentation  of  what  may  be 
called  their  background.  The  text  of  this  opera  is 
drawn  from  ei  piece  by  one  of  the  greatest  Russian  dra- 
matists, Ostrovsky,  who  at  the  bidding  of  the  direc- 
torate of  the  Great  Theatre,  ^loscow,  in  1873,  forsook 
the  sphere  in  which  he  had  achieved  fame— that  of 
satirical  comedy  with  the  Muscovite  bourgeoisie  as  sub- 
ject— and  under lOok  to  write  a  fairy  piece  on  the  subject 
of  "  Spring."  His  musical  collaborator  was  Tchaikov- 
sky, who  completed  his  contribution  in  two  months. 
Tchaikovsky  was  about  to  revise  his  work  in  order  to 
reconstruct  it  as  an  opera  proper,  wdien  Rimsky-Korsa- 
koff,  in  response  to  an  invitation  from  the  Imperial 
Theatre,  brought  forward  his  own  completed  operatic 
setting  of  the  same  text. 

The  story  which  is  derived  from  a  folk-tale  is  as  fol- 
lows :  its  scene  is  the  neighbourhood  of  Berendey 
during  early  spring.     The  "  Snow-]\Iaiden  "  is  the  off- 


igS  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

spring  of  an  attachment  between  the  Fairy  Spring  and 
Old  Winter,  dating  from  sixteen  years  prior  to  the 
opening  of  the  story.  Old  Winter  realises  the  danger 
which  would  arise  from  the  exposure  of  his  daughter 
to  the  power  of  his  perpetual  enemy  the  Sun  God.  The 
Fairy  Spring  has,  however,  an  excessive  maternal  pride 
in  the  delicate  beauty  of  her  child,  the  Snow-Maiden, 
now  entering  womanhood,  and  allows  her  to  roam 
about  unchecked.  The  mother,  noticing  that  her 
daughter  is  apparently  incapable  of  passion  or  any 
warmth  of  feeling  owing  to  the  snow  which  fills  her 
veins,  endows  her  with  the  missing  attributes.  But  no 
sooner  has  the  Snow-Maiden  made  choice  of  a  lover 
than  the  warm  June  sun  pierces  her  unsubstantial  frame 
and,  becoming  deliquescent,  she  floats  to  heaven  in  a 
vapour. 

For  the  four  acts  and  prologue  the  composer  has 
found  an  ample  fund  of  incident  and  interest  in  the 
legend,  and  the  beliefs  of  pagan  Russia,  which  are  re- 
ferred to  from  time  to  time  in  its  pages,  help  to  create 
an  atmosphere  of  nationality.  There  is  quite  a  host  of 
accessory  characters ;  birds,  flowers,  nobles  and  their 
wives,  the  Czar's  suite,  players  of  the  gnslee,  the  rebec 
and  the  pipe,  blind  men,  buffoons,  shepherds,  youths 
and  maidens  and  Berendeys  "of  every  class"  all  help- 
ing to  make  a  striking  pictorial  effect.  As  for  the 
scenery,  its  description  in  the  score  is  sufficient  to  sug- 
gest that,  from  a  man  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  wealth  of 
imagination,  it  could  not  do  less  than  evoke  music 
which  would  fulfil  all  the  needs  of  the  picturesque 
legend  of  spring.  The  song  and  dance  of  the  birds  in 
the  prologue,  the  songs  of  the  shepherd  Lei  (who  per- 
sonifies Russian  folk-lore),  the  prelude  to  the  third  act 


STRINGENT   STAGE-DIRECTIONS.  IQQ 

and  certain  of  the  folk-song  choruses  are  specimens 
of  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  inspiration  at  its  zenith.  The 
composer  makes  good  use  of  his  themes,  but  avoids 
Wagnerian  persistence,  relying  on  a  melodic  presenta- 
tion when  making  a  psychological  or  personal  refer- 
ence. Certain  directions  in  the  score  reveal  that  the  com- 
poser, following  the  tradition  set  up  by  his  school,  had 
become  a  stickler  for  thoroughness  of  production,  and 
they  enforce  a  scrupulous  regard  for  the  niceties  of 
stage  management.  "  During  the  performance  of  the 
lyrical  pieces  in  this  opera,"  he  admonishes  his  pro- 
ducers, "  those  who  have  to  remain  silent  on  the  stage 
are  requested  not  to  distract  the  public  attention  from 
the  singing  by  an  excessive  play  of  gesture."  He 
further  insists  that  there  must  be  no  cuts.  The  "  Snow- 
}\Iaiden  "  received  its  first  performance  in  1882  at  the 
Imperial  Theatre,  St.  Petersburg,  the  proceeds  being  re- 
served for  the  chorus  of  that  establishment.  A  special 
French  edition  was  prepared  for  its  production  at  the 
Opera-Comique,  Paris,  in  1908. 

In  1882  Rimsky-Korsakoff  published  a  second  col- 
lection of  folk-songs  and  then  spent  some  little  time  m 
the  editing  of  IMoussorgsky's  two  operas,  of  which 
labour  enough  has  already  been  said.  In  1883  he  was 
apointed  assistant  director  of  the  Imperial  Chiipel,  St. 
Petersburg,  a  post  held  by  him  for  eleven  years.  The 
third  symphony  was  revised  in  1884. 

A  year  later  he  received  an  invitation  from  Tchaikov- 
sky to  take  over  the  directorship  of  the  Conservatorium 
in  Moscow,  an  office  filled  by  Nicholas  Rubinstein  from 
its  foundation  m  1864  until  his  death  in  1881.  Tchai- 
kovsk}',  writing  primarily  to  prepare  Rimsky-Korsa- 
koff for  a  somewhat  over-critical  revision  of  the  latter' s 


200  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

harmony  guide,  then  under  process  of  compilation, 
adds :  "  Now  I  am  going  to  lay  a  serious  question 
before  you  which  you  need  not  answer  at  once,  onl\' 
after  due  consideration  and  discussion  with  }^our  wife. 
Dare  I  hope  that  you  would  accept  the  position  of 
director  of  the  ]\Ioscow  Conservatoire Your  up- 
right and  ideally  honourable  character,  your  distin- 
guished gifts,  both  as  artist  and  teacher,  warrant  my 
conviction  that  in  you  we  should  hnd  a  splendid  direc- 
tor  Think  it  over  and   send  me  }'our  answer." 

This  offer  was  declined,  and  the  directorship  was,  after 
a  lapse  of  time,  offered  to  S.  I.  Taneieff,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1889  by  Safonoff. 

In  1885,  isi.  P.  Belaieff,  the  patriotic  publisher, 
founded  the  organisation  known  as  the  Russian  Sym- 
phony Concerts,  for  the  performance  of  native  composi- 
tions, and  in  the  following  \-ear  Rimsky-Korsakoff  ac- 
cepted the  conductorship.  .\bout  this  time  he  contributed 
the  opening  allegro  to  the  string  quartet  jointly  com- 
posed m  honour  of  the  "  Russian  Maecenas,''  Belaieff,  b\' 
Borodin,  Liadoff,  Glazounoff  and  himself.  His  piano 
concerto  in  three  movements  (Op.  30,  C  sharp  minor), 
dedicated  to  Liszt,  was  also  published  in  1886. 

On  the  death  of  Borodin  m  1887,  he  undertook  the 
revision  and  completion  of  the  works  left  by  his  friend, 
a  task  in  which  he  was  assisted  by  Glazounoff.  The 
opera,  "Prince  Igor,"  the  fragmentary  third  symphony, 
the  second  string  quartet  and  some  songs  were  eventu- 
ally published  by  Belaieff. 

In  the  same  year  he  completed  that  "colossal  master- 
piece  of   instrumentation,'"'^'   the    Capriccio    Espagnole 


Tchaikovsky. 


THE   "  SPANISH   CAPRICE.''  201 

(Op.  34),  for  "  grand "  orchestra,  which  has  since  at- 
tained a  general  popularity.  This  work  is  divided  into 
five  movements,  thus  arranged :  (a)  Alborada,  Varia- 
zioni,  Alborada,  (b)  Scene  e  canto  gitano,  (c)  Fandango 
asturiano.  It  is  thoroughly  Spanish  in  character,  bril- 
liantly scored,  contains  some  epoch-making  combina- 
tions of  instruments — that  of  drums,  tambourine  and 
cymbals,  with  the  rest  silent,  following  the  violin 
cadenza  in  the  fourth  movement  is  sufficiently  uncom- 
mon— and  is  a  monument  to  the  composer's  remarkable 
flair  for  orchestral  colour.  The  "  Capriccio  "  was  first 
performed  on  October  31,  1887,  by  the  orchestra  of  the 
Imperial  Opera,  St.  Petersburg,  the  composer  con- 
ducting, and  the  score  which  was  published  in  the 
following  year  was  dedicated  to  this  body;  its  title- 
page  bears  a  picturesque  design  introducing  certain 
Spanish  emblems  which  decorate  a  pillar  bearing  the 
names  of  the  whole  orchestra.  The  violin  fantasia 
on  Russian  themes,  chief  among  which  is  that  num- 
bered seven  in  Balakireff's  collection,*  belongs  to  this 
period. 

Another  orchestral  work  which  now  enjov's  an  equal 
esteem  and  an  enhanced  popularity,  by  reason  of  its 
adoption  as  the  basis  of  one  of  the  items  in  the  Rus- 
sian ballet  repertoire,  was  composed  soon  after  the 
"Capriccio  Espagnole.  "Scheherazade"  (Op.  35)  is 
a  symphonic  suite  in  four  movements,  written  to  a 
"  programme,"  based  on  stories  from  the  "  Arabian 
Nights."  The  "  plot "  affixed  to  the  score  is  narrated 
in  the  following  terms  by  the  composer  himself.  "The 
Sultan  Schahriar,  impelled  to  the  belief  that  all  women 


*  A  variant  will  be  found  in  the   collection  of  Prokiuiin 


202  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

are  false  by  nature,  had  sworn  to  put  each  of  his  suc- 
cessive wives  to  death  on  the  morrow  of  the  nuptials. 
But  the  Sultana  Scheherazade  saved  herself  by  excit- 
ing his  interest  m  the  tales  she  told  him  during  a 
thousand  and  one  nights.  Driven  by  curiosity,  the  Sul- 
tan deferred  his  wife's  execution  from  day  to  day  until 
finally  he  revoked  his  slaughterous  resolve.  Many 
wonders  were  narrated  to  Schahriar  by  the  Sultana 
Scheherazade.  For  her  tales,  the  Sultana  borrowed 
from  the  poets— their  verses,  from  popular  songs — the 
words,  and  she  intercalated  the  stories  and  the  adven- 
tures one  in  another."  The  score  is  remarkable  for 
certain  successful  experiments  in  instrumentation,  and 
also  for  the  employment  of  the  various  instruments  as 
soloists,  which  procedure  might  well  be  supposed  to 
have  arisen  out  of  the  composer's  intense  satisfaction 
at  the  first  performance  of  the  preceding  w^ork.  The 
interpretation  of  his  programme  is  carried  out  with  all 
the  power  and  resource  which  Rimsky-Korsakoff  had 
at  his  disposal,  and  which,  together  with  his  penchant 
for  the  oriental,  place  him,  in  works  of  this  class  at 
least,  far  beyond  his  contemporaries — Balakireff  him- 
self not  excepted. 

That  the  purely  symphonic  was  exerting  a  fascina- 
tion upon  the  composer  at  this  time  is  suggested  by  the 
appearance,  shortly  after  "Scheherazade"  of  the 
"  Easter  "  overture  (Op.  36)  which  is  based  on  Russian 
church  tunes.  This  work,  like  "  Scheherazade,"  is  writ- 
ten to  a  definite  programme — one,  however,  of  a  very 
different  character.  Its  purport  is  explained  by  two 
biblical  quotations,  one  from  Psalm  LXVIII,  and  the 
ether  from  Chapter  X\^  of  St.  2vlark,  which  preface  the 
score.     Again  there  is  an  exceeding  brilliance  of  orches- 


APPEARAN'CES   ABROAD.  203 

tration,  and  the  use  of  bell  effects  which  accompany  the 
appearance  of  the  Easter  hymn  is  at  once  characteristic, 
appropriate  and  masterly. 

In  1889  Rimsky-Korsakoff  appeared  m  Pans  and 
conducted  two  concerts,  consisting  of  Russian  music, 
at  the  Trocadero,  under  the  auspices  of  the  International 
Exhibition,  and  in  the  following  year,  in  response  to 
an  invitation  from  the  executive  of  the  "  Concerts  popu- 
laires,"  travelled  for  the  same  purpose  to  Brussels 
— the  scene  of  his  labours  being  the  Theatre  de  la 
Monnaie.  The  composer  was  enthusiastically  received, 
and  entertained  at  a  banquet  at  which  a  special  refer- 
ence was  made  to  the  efforts  of  the  Countess  Mercy- 
Argenteau,  who,  as  we  know,  had  worked  untiringly 
on  behalf  of  the  cause  of  Russian  music  in  Western 
Europe. 

These  tours  abroad  did  not  cause  a  cessation  of 
Rimsky-Korsakcff's  creative  activities.  In  1889  he 
began  a  remarkable  series  of  operatic  works  which 
flowed  from  his  pen  with  extraordinary  rapidity.  Be- 
tween 1870  and  1889,  as  we  have  seen,  he  composed 
but  three  operas.  Between  the  last-named  date  and 
his  death — a  period  of  similar  length — he  completed 
no  less  than  twelve.  Of  these  the  first  was  "  Mlada." 
The  origin  of  this  work  was  the  proposal  of  Gedeonoff 
to  Borodin,  Cui,  Moussorgsky  and  Rimsky-Korsakoff 
in  the  winter  of  187 1-2.  The  subject  had  doubtless 
"  grown  upon  "  Rimsky-Korsakoff  in  the  meantime,  for, 
in  addition  to  the  section  composed  by  him  for  the  abor- 
tive production,  he  had  orchestrated  Borodin's  contri- 
bution, the  last  act.  In  "Mlada"  he  still  favours  the 
lyrical  method,  a  condition  imposed  by  the  nature  of 
the  libretto  which  is  that  of  Gedeonoff.     "Mlada"  is 


::o4        A  SHORT  History  of  russiax  music. 

described  as  an  "  opera  ballet,"  and  is  in  four  acts.  Its 
performance  demands  an  immense  stage  and  the  em- 
ployment of  a  large  and  complicated  cast,  which  com- 
prises a  varied  array  of  dramatic  personages,  mortal 
and  supernatural.  The  second  act  calls  for  some  ten 
auxiliaries,  all  of  whom  fulfil  solo  vocal  roles.  In  ad- 
dition there  are  parts  for  a  pantomimic  arlist  and  a  solo 
danseuse,  a  chorus  divided  into  small  groups,  and  cer- 
tain imitative  instruments  in  the  orchestra,  designed  to 
relieve  the  usual  functionaries  of  the  onus  of  "stage 
noises  "  production. 

The  composer  is  not  satisfied  with  his  prefatory  in- 
junction that  the  privilege  of  imitating  such  elemental 
phenomena  as  thunder  and  wind  is  to  remain  with  the 
orchestra,  but  finds  it  necessary  to  emphasise  this 
decree  at  sundry  meteorological  moments  in  the 
score. 

The  action  of  "Mlada"  takes  place  in  the  ninth  or 
tenth  century  in  the  town  of  Rhetra  near  the  river  Laba 
and  the  Baltic  coast,  and  introduces  certain  pagan  cus- 
toms, such  as  the  worship  of  Peroun,  the  god  of  thun- 
der, and  other  elemental  deities  which  prevailed  prior 
to  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  then  imminent. 
Mstivoi,  Prince  of  Rhetra,  has  designs  upon  Arkonsk, 
and  wishes  to  encompass  the  downfall  of  its  ruler, 
Yaromir.  To  this  end  he  seeks  the  union  of  Yaromir 
with  his  daughter,  Yoislava,  and  makes  the  latter,  who 
is  in  love  with  Yaromir,  his  instrument,  by  causing  her 
to  present  a  poisoned  ring  to  Yaromir's  affianced  bride 
at  the  wedding  ceremony.  At  the  opening  of  the  opera 
Voislava  anticipates  the  arrival  of  the  bereaved  Yaro- 
mir at  her  father's  palace.     Voislava,  w4io  has  failed 


KORSAKOFF'S    "  MLADA."  205 

to  derive  satisfaction  from  the  worship  of  Lada,  pro- 
ceeds at  the  instigation  of  her  nurse,  Sviatokna,  to  in- 
voke the  infernal  goddess,  Morena,  whose  earthly  shape 
is  in  fact  that  of  the  nurse  herself.  On  Yaromir's  ar- 
rival he  quickly  falls  a  victim  to  Voislava's  charms,  but 
sees,  while  sleeping,  a  vision  of  his  wedding  with  Mlada, 
and  perceives  for  the  first  time  that  it  is  none  other  than 
Voislava  who  is  responsible  for  the  death  of  his 
bride.  On  awaking,  however,  his  newly-kindled  pas- 
sion is  still  ablaze,  and  Mstivo'i's  scheme  seems  likely 
to  bear  fruit,  until,  at  the  moment  when  the  lovers  are 
about  to  embrace,  the  shade  of  Mlada  persistently  in- 
tervenes and  ultimately  carries  off  Yaromir.  On  his 
return  to  earth  the  disillusioned  lover  kills  the  perfidi- 
ous V^oislava,  who  is  claimed  by  Morena  as  her  part  of 
the  bargain  between  them,  and  the  final  curtain  falls  on 
the  benediction  of  Mlada  and  Yaromir  by  the  goddess 
Lada. 

In  "Mlada"  Rimsky-Korsakoff  again  makes  a  judi- 
cious use  of  the  leading-motive,  and  nowhere  employs  it 
more  effectively  than  in  the  intervention  of  Mlada's 
shade,  when  the  chorus  is  urging  Yaromir  to  embrace 
X^oislava.  There  is  some  very  beautiful  music  in  the 
dream  of  Yaromir,  and  some  exceedingly  characteristic 
passages  occur  in  the  second  act,  when  the  merchants 
are  crying  their  wares  in  the  market — a  device  again 
used  in  a  somewhat  different  fashion  in  a  later  opera. 
Here  the  composer  introduces  an  Eastern  element  in 
the  shape  of  a  "  cadenza  "  which  embodies  the  cry  of  the 
Moorish  merchant.  A  further  Oriental  episode  is  that 
in  which  the  Queen  Cleopatra  figures.  Some  fine 
spectacular   music   occurs   in  the  third   act,   depicting 


206  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

"  Night  on  IMount  Triglav,"*  which  is  the  scene  of  Mous- 
sorgsky's  "  Bare  Mountain  "  (the  final  shape  of  his  third 
act  in  the  Gedeoncff  version)  and  in  which  are  seen  a 
number  of  mythical  and  legendary  beings,  such  as 
Tchernobog,  the  black  god,  and  Koshchei,  the  man- 
skeleton.  From  this  act  the  composer  afterwards  drew 
the  material  for  a  ''  symphonic  picture."  The  "  Redova  " 
dance  in  the  first  act  must  also  be  mentioned  as  one  of 
the  choicer  numbers  in  a  score  which  is  quite  one  of 
Rimsky-Korsakoff' s  richest  works.  "  Mlada  "  was  pro- 
duced in  November,  1 892. 

In  1894  Rimsky-Korsakofi  relinquished  the  assistant- 
ship  of  the  Imperial  Chapel,  a  step  which  doubtless 
contributed  to  his  subsequent  activity  in  operatic  com- 
position. He  was  now  at  work  upon  an  opera  in  which 
the  element  of  humour  is  more  pronounced  than  in  any 
other  from  his  pen.  The  subject  of  "Christmas  Eve 
Revels"  is  taken  from  one  of  the  fantastic  "Stories  of 
Mirgorod,"  by  Gogol,  who  wrote  them  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Pushkin.  In  1873  the  subject  had  been  chosen 
for  a  competition  inaugurated  by  the  Grand  Duchess 
Helena  Pavlovna,  who  had  previously  commissioned 
Polonsky,  a  well-known  poet,  to  prepare  a  libretto  for 
Seroff. 

Tchaikovsky  was  the  successful  competitor.  His 
opera,  originally  named  "Vakoula  the  Smith,"  was 
given  a  mixed  reception  at  St.  Petersburg  in  1876,  and 
having  undergone  revision  and  two  changes  of  name 
was  successfully  produced  at  Moscow  as  "  Oxana's 
Caprice"  in  1887.  The  attractiveness  of  Gogol's  story 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  it  has  been  treated  by  no 

*  Triglav  was  a  three-headed  god. 


"CHRISTMAS    EVE   REVELS."  20/ 

less   than   five  composers — the  others   being   Solovieff, 
Shchourovsky  and  Lissenko.     The  Ubretto  of  Rimsky- 
Korsakoff's  work  was  of  his  own  writing.     The  "plot" 
deals  with  the  machinations  of  a  witch  called  Solokha 
in  partnership  with  the  Devil.     The  scene  is  the  village 
of  Dikanka  on  a  moon-lit  Christmas  eve.     The  Devil 
bears  a  grudge  against  Vakoula  the  smith,  because  the 
latter  has  portrayed  the  satanic   features  on  the  wall 
of  the  village  church.     \^akoula  is  going  to  visit  his 
lady-love  Oxana,  the  daughter  of  the  Cossack  Choub, 
and  the  last-named  is  engaged  to  sup  with  the  sacristan. 
The  Devil's  revenge  upon  his  caricaturist  is  wrought 
by  means  of  the  theft  of  the  moon  and  stars.     The  re- 
sultant   darkness    brings    about    a    fearful    confusion. 
Choub  loses  his  way,  and,  missing  the  sacristan's  abode, 
comes  back  in  a  circle  to  his  own,  only  to  be  refused 
admission  by  Vakoula,  who  assumes  that  he  must  be  a 
rival  for  the  hand  of  Oxana.     Further  complications 
ensue  in  which  the  village  headman  is  involved,  but 
eventually    the    moon    is    replaced.     Oxana,    who    has 
hitherto  rejected  \^akoula's  suit,  promises,  half  in  jest, 
to  marry  him  if  he  will   bring  her  the  shoes   of   the 
Tsantsa.     Vakoula    getting    the    upper    hand    of    the 
Devil,  exacts  from  him  a  promise  to  obtain  an  interview 
with  the  Tsaritsa,  and  the  latter  being  in  a  pleasant 
mood,  allows  him  to  carry  off  the  shoes  which  are  duly 
presented  to  the  now  relenting  Oxana. 

Rimsky-Korsakoff's  score  occupies  itself  with  em- 
phasising the  humorous  and  fantastic  in  Gogol's  stor)-, 
thus  differing  from  Tchaikovsky's  lyrical  treatment  of 
the  subject.  The  former  composer  possessed  qualities 
which  enabled  him  better  to  appreciate  the  subtle  kinds 
of  humour ;  the  latter  appears  to  have  been  sensible  only 


208  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

to  the  more  obvious  and  superficial.  Rimsky-Korsa- 
koff  gave  variety  to  the  work  by  introducing  a  reference 
to  the  sacred  aspect  of  Christmas;  the  overture  is  built 
upon  two  themes  of  a  character  which  leaves  no  doubt 
as  to  the  composer's  intention. 

"  Christmas  Eve  Revels  "  is  in  four  acts,  subdivided 
into  nine  tableaux.  It  was  produced  at  the  Maryinsky 
Theatre,  St.  Petersburg,  in  1895,  but  remained  only  a 
short  time  in  the  repertoire,  thus  sharing  the  fate  of 
several  other  Russian  operatic  works  of  distinction. 

The  year  1896  is  noteworthy  for  the  celebration  of 
Rimsky-Korsakoff's  twenty-fifth  \'car  of  work  as  pro- 
fessor at  the  Conservatoire. 

His  next  opera,  on  which  he  had  been  working  since 
1895,  was  produced  in  1897.  There  has  already  been 
occasion  briefly  to  refer  to  its  subject  in  speaking  of 
the  symphonic  picture,  "  Sadko,"  composed  in  1867. 
Rimsky-Korsakoff  drew  from  his  operas,  "The  Snow- 
Maiden,"  "Mlada,"  "Christmas  Eve"  and  "Tsar  Sal- 
tan," the  material  for  orchestral  suites.  Here  he  re- 
verses the  process  and  elaborates  the  scheme  of  a  sym- 
phonic work  to  build  up  an  opera.  In  "  Sadko  "  the 
declamatory  style  of  vocalisation  is  given  somewhat 
wider  scope  and  the  melodic  element  is  less  noticeable. 
Cheshikin,  who  discusses  at  length  the  question  of  Rim- 
sky-Korsakoff's variation  of  methods,  hints  that  the 
composer's  hesitation  with  respect  to  the  basic  princi- 
ples of  operatic  construction  might  have  been  assumed 
to  be  at  an  end  with  "  Sadko,"  which  is  a  thoroughly 
well-balanced  and  at  the  same  time  a  highly  original 
work.     This,  as  we  shall  see,  was  not  so. 

"Sadko"  is  very  rich  in  material  of  the  historical 
as  well  as  of  the  legendary  kind.     The  minstrel-hero 


"  SADKO."  209 

lived  in  the  eleventh  century,  and  records  of  his  actions 
are  to  be  seen  in  the  "  Cycle  of  Novgorod,"  the  third  of 
the  five  series  of  "  tales  of  the  olden  times "  (builini) 
and  in  various  folk-songs.  The  cycle  of  Novgorod, 
which  is  divided  into  two  legends,  deals  with  merchants, 
pilgrims  and  town-builders.  Sadko  has  a  story  to  him- 
self.    It  runs  as  follows  : 

At  Novgorod  dwelt  a  poor  minstrel  who  earned  a 
precarious  livelihood  by  performing  on  his  guslee  to 
the  rich  men  of  the  city.  One  day  at  a  banquet  he  had 
the  misfortune  to  annoy  those  present  by  reproaching 
them  with  their  love  of  wealth,  and  was  unceremoni- 
ously bundled  out.  Hurt  by  this  treatment,  he  betook 
himself  one  lovely  summer's  evening  to  the  banks  cf 
Lake  Ilmen,  and  sang  his  woes  to  its  waves.  At- 
tracted by  the  music,  the  beautiful  Volkhova,  young- 
est daughter  of  the  Ocean  Monarch,  emerged  from  the 
water,  surrounded  by  her  suite  of  maidens.  Enchanted 
both  by  the  beauty  and  talent  of  Sadko,  Volk- 
hova promised  that  they  should  meet  again,  when 
riches  and  happiness  would  become  his  lot.  She  in- 
structed him  to  cast  his  nets  in  the  lake  waters  and 
assured  him  that  he  would  draw  golden  fish  from  them 
in  sufficient  abundance  to  enable  him  to  travel  the 
world  over.  Sadko,  overwhelmed  with  joy,  returned 
to  the  town,  and  wagered  his  head  against  the  wealth 
of  the  merchants  that  he  would  catch  golden  fish  in 
Lake  Ilmen.  Volkhova  fulfilled  her  promise,  but  Sadko, 
unwilling  to  profit  to  the  full  extent,  was  satisfied 
with  a  fleet  of  thirty  vessels  with  which  he  set  sail  for 
a  long  voyage.  One  evening  in  mid-ocean  his 
ship  suddenly  came  to  a  standstill  and  its  sails  were 
torn  from  its  masts.     In  order  to  propitiate  the  Sea- 

15 


210  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

King  casks  of  gold  and  precious  stones  were  pitched 
into  the  waves.  This  proving  of  no  avail,  it  was  as- 
sumed that  the  King  required  a  human  sacrifice.  Lots 
were  drawn  and  Sadko,  who  had  already  guessed  that 
Volkhova's  hand  was  directing  these  circumstances,  was 
placed  on  a  plank  and  drawn  down  to  the  Sea-King's 
domain.  Entranced  by  Sadko's  glorification,  sung  m 
his  honour,  the  King  bestowed  his  youngest  daughter, 
Volkhova,  upon  the  minstrel.  The  betrothal  was  cele- 
brated with  submarine  pomp  and  circumstance.  Sadko 
then  began  anew  to  play  and  sing,  but  his  music  rose 
to  such  a  liigh  emotional  pitch  that  the  whole  company 
joined  in  with  a  frenzied  dance.  This  caused  a  storm 
and  many  ships  were  wrecked.  Suddenly  St.  Nicholas 
appeared,  and  remonstrating  with  Sadko,  dashed  his 
gnslec  to  the  ground,  thus  putting  an  end  to  the  dance 
and  to  its  attendant  storm.  He  bade  the  minstrel  re- 
turn to  his  home  and  transformed  \'olkhova  into  the 
river  that  flows  by  the  city  of  Novgorod. 

In  this  opera  Rimsky-Korsakoff  adopts  a  method  of 
recitative  which  lends  itself  to  the  narration  of  legend- 
ary lore,  but  he  indulges  his  gift  for  melody  in  man)- 
charming  songs  and  dances,  and  gives  scope  to  his  flair 
for  the  picturesque  by  introducing  a  series  of  solos  for 
three  oversea  merchants,  demanded  by  Sadko  as  a 
musical  acknowledgment  of  his  clemency  m  renouncing 
the  greater  part  of  the  booty  won  in  his  wager.  Quite 
a  feature  of  the  opera  is  the  wonderful  variety 
of  rhythm,  one  of  the  most  original  specimens  being 
the  song  of  Niejata,  a  minstrel  from  Kieff,  in  which  the 
rhythms  of  6-4  and  9-4  appear  in  alternate  bars.  Among 
the  many  beautiful  numbers  in  the  score  may 
be  mentioned  the  procession   of   maidens   (the   King's 


KORSAKOFF  REBUKES  OPERATIC  DIRECTORATE.     2  I  I 

daughters)  and  every  kind  of  marine  marvels  in  the 
penultimate  tableau  (there  are  seven),  and  Volkhova's 
slumber-song  in  the  last. 

The  instrumentation  is  novel  and  effective,  the  giislcc 
music  being  rendered  by  a  combination  of  pianino  and 
harp.  Sexeral  themes  from  the  s}'mphonic  "  Sadko  "  are 
employed  in  the  opera. 

The  directorate  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Imperial  Opera, 
to  whom  the  work  was  duly  submitted,  was  somewhat 
disconcerted  by  its  originality,  and  refused  to  produce 
it.  laickily  for  the  composer  and  for  the  musical  pub- 
lic, there  had  lately  been  inaugurated,  in  Moscow,  an 
operatic  organisation  supported  by  private  funds,  and 
under  these  auspices  "  Sadko  "'  was  staged  with  such  suc- 
cess that  the  Imperial  Opera  authorities  were  obliged, 
in  I  go  I,  to  reverse  their  decision,  and  the  work  has  shice 
been  performed  wherever  possible  in  Russia. 

Rimsky-Korsakoff  was  naturally  nettled  by  this  ac- 
tion, and  determined  never  again  to  submit  his  work  to 
this  body.  In  1899  he  addressed  a  letter  to  a  Russian 
musical  journal  m  which  he  voiced  the  complaint  that 
whereas  native  composers  were  obliged  to  present  their 
works  when  soliciting  performance,  foreigners  were  not 
thus  penalised.  He  also  referred  to  the  performing 
fees  paid  to  foreign  composers  and  their  representatives, 
which  he  characterised,  m  view  of  the  absence  of  an 
understanding  with  other  European  countries  in  the 
matter  of  "rights,"  as  an  act  of  pure  generosity,  and 
recommended  to  the  authorities  the  nationalisation  of 
such  benevolence. 

In  1898  he  was  already  faced  with  the  problem  of 
placing  a  fresh  opera.  *'  The  Tsar's  Betrothed "  is 
founded  on  a  drama  by  Mey,  but  contains  some  sup- 


212  A   SHORT   HISTORY  OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

plementary  material  from  the  pen  of  Tumeneff.  Its 
subject  is  the  same  as  that  of  an  abortive  operatic 
essay  by  Borodin  begun  in  the  'sixties.  It  relates  to 
a  custom  obtaining  in  the  time  of  Ivan  the  Terrible — 
that  of  selecting  an  Imperial  bride.  Ivan's  choice  falls 
upon  Martha,  who  is  already  loved  by  Griaznoi,  an 
officer.  Griaznoi  devises  the  plan  of  giving  Martha  a 
potion  which  will  efface  the  memory  of  a  further  claim- 
ant, Lykoff.  But  the  officer  does  not  reckon  with  his 
discarded  mistress,  Liuba,  who  replaces  the  potion  with 
another  which  robs  Martha  of  her  beauty.  Griaznoi 
stabs  Liuba  and  gives  himself  up  to  justice.  This 
work,  which  is  in  four  acts,  is  the  only  one  in  which, 
musicall)'  speaking,  the  composer  comes  West.  The 
subject  is  of  course  purely  national,  but  the  treatment 
in  general  is  of  a  kind  which  savours  of  ^lozart 
and  of  the  Italian  manner.  Of  operas  already  men- 
tioned, "  Pskovitianka  "  and  "  A  Night  in  May,"  have 
long  overtures  in  the  traditional  pattern.  The  "  Holy 
Night "  introduction  to  "  Christmas  Eve  Revels,"  which 
serves  as  preludial  matter,  contains  but  fifty  bars;  that 
of  '*  The  Tsar's  Betrothed "  is  more  than  six  times 
as  long,  has  some  half-dozen  changes  of  key-signature 
and  is  fitted  with  a  "  concert-ending."  The  opera  is 
divided  into  the  conventional  operatic  divisions  :  arias, 
duets,  trios  and  quartets,  and  the  chorus-work  empha- 
sises the  "  occidental "  quality  of  the  score.  "  The 
Tsar's  Betrothed  "  was  produced  at  the  Moscow  Private 
Opera  on  October  22,  1899,  with  very  pronounced  suc- 
cess, and  two  }'ears  later  at  the  ^laryinsky  Theatre. 
The  taste  of  the  larger  Russian  public  was  betrayed 
by  this  reception — it  retained  in  a  considerable  measure 
what  Cheshikin  calls  its  "  Italianomania,"  and  a  com- 


"MOZART   AND    SALIERI."  213 

bination  of  Russian  subject  and  Italian  manner  must 
still  have  been,  at  even  so  late  a  date,  the  approved  in- 
gredients of  operatic  success. 

As  has  been  seen,  Rimsky-Korsakoff,  since  his  first 
operatic  work,  "  Pskovitianka,"  had  forsaken  the  de- 
clamatory method.  In  "  ]\Iozart  and  Salieri,"  however, 
he  adopted  a  procedure  which  reminds  us  of  Dar- 
gomijsky,  to  whose  memory  it  was  dedicated,  and  his 
"  Stone  Guest."  It  seems  as  though  Rimsky-Korsakoff, 
after  wandering  in  search  of  a  solution  of  the  problem 
of  operatic  construction,  had  determined  on  returning, 
as  it  were,  to  the  fold.  "  Mozart  and  Salieri,"  a  "  dra- 
matic duologue "  by  Pushkin,  is  set  from  end  to  end 
to  the  unaltered  text,  and  in  these  "  dramatic  scenes"  of 
Rimsky-Korsakoff — -a  title  replacing  that  of  "opera" 
— the  melodic  recitative  is  maintained  unbroken.  The 
dramatic  substance  concerns  itself  with  the  supposition 
that  Alczart's  death  was  caused  by  poison  administered 
to  him  b}'  his  southern  rival,  and  refers  to  the  mysteri- 
ous stranger— the  emissary  of  that  "musical  ghoul," 
Count  Walsegg — who  in  the  last  year  of  Mozart's  life 
commissioned  the  "  Requiem."  "  Mozart  and  Salieri  " 
is  in  two  scenes.  In  the  first  are  seen  the  two  composers 
and  an  old  fiddler  who  has  been  brought  to  Mozart's 
house  by  his  rival.  Salieri  is  piqued  by  Mozart's  mer- 
riment at  the  old  man's  expense,  but  when  the  master 
plays,  Salieri,  always  impressionable,  compares  him 
with  God.  Alozart  declares  in  jest  that  "  God  is  hun- 
gry "  and  Salieri  invites  him  to  dine  at  a  restaurant. 
While  ]\Iozart  is  informing  his  wife  of  his  proposed 
absence  from  the  domestic  table,  Salieri  decides  to 
poison  him. 

The  second  scene  takes  place  at  the  restaurant.     As 


214  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

an  explanation  of  a  somewhat  morose  mood,  Mozart 
mentions  the  stranger  who  haunts  him.  SaHeri  quotes 
Beaumarchais's  words  to  the  effect  that  champagne  is 
the  best  remedy  for  low  spirits.  !^Iozart  then  inquires 
as  to  the  truth  of  the  story  that  the  author  of  "  Figaro  " 
poisoned  someone,  and  asserts  his  belief  that  a  genius 
would  be  incapable  of  murder.  Salieri,  in  course  of 
conversation,  finds  an  opportunity  to  introduce  some 
poison  into  Mozart's  glass,  and  the  latter,  after  an  at- 
tempt to  render  his  "  Requiem "  at  the  piano,  is  over- 
come by  the  effect  of  the  potion.  Salieri,  pondering  the 
question  as  to  the  incompatibility  of  genius  and  mur- 
derous instincts,  is  plunged  into  despair  at  this  apparent 
reflection  upon  the  quality  of  his  ow^n  capacities. 

The  score  introduces  several  imitative  references  to 
the  musical  matter  of  the  text,  such  as  Salieri's  men- 
tion of  a  simple  scale  and  an  allusion  to  an  organ, 
which  evokes  a  pedal-point.  Rimsk)'-Korsakoff  ad- 
heres as  far  as  possible  to  the  style  of  the  Mozart 
period. 

"  Mozart  and  Salieri "  was  produced  at  the  Solodov- 
nikoff  Theatre,  Moscow,  in  1898.  It  was  the  first  opera 
in  which  the  subject  was  not  nationalistic,  but  this  can- 
not be  looked  upon  as  a  serious  lapse  from  the  com- 
poser's ideal,  seeing  that  its  literary  material  was  de- 
rived from  the  greatest  figure  in  the  history  of  Russian 
literature. 

The  declamatory  style  was  again  predominant  in 
Rimsky-Korsakoff's  next  work,  but  this  is  not  neces- 
sarily to  be  regarded  as  the  result  of  a  preference  en- 
gendered by  the  composer's  artistic  state  of  mind. 
"  Boyarina  Vera  Sheloga  "  is  a  prologue  to  "  Pskoviti- 
anka,"  and  treats  of  the  incident  contributorv  to  the 


"VERA    SHELOGA."  21  5 

literary  substance  of  the  earlier  work.  It  will  thus  be 
recognised  that  the  consideration  of  homogeneity  of 
style  would  have  a  strong  claim  in  the  selection  of 
method.  "  Boyarina  Vera  Sheloga  "  is  in  one  act.  Its 
story,  like  that  of  "  Pskovitiankn,"  is  taken  from  Mey's 
drama,  but  it  deals  with  a  period  fifteen  years  anterior 
to  the  first  episodes  in  the  plot  of  "  Pskcvitianka."  In 
the  second  act  of  the  last-named  work  there  is  a  passage 
which  gives  the  key  to  the  dramatic  situation  in  this  pro- 
logue. When  Ivan  the  Terrible  questions  Prince  Tok- 
makoff  as  to  the  antecedents  of  Olga,  his  adopted 
daughter,  the  Prince  explains  that  Olga  is  the  child  of 
his  wife's  sister  by  someone  unknown,  and  that  his  wife, 
then  his  betrothed,  took  upon  her  own  shoulders  the  onus 
of  the  indiscretion.  Sheloga,  still  suspecting  his  own 
wife,  \'era,  left  for  the  war  and  sought  a  soldier's  end. 
Olga,  the  child,  has  since  remained  under  the  Prince's 
protection. 

The  scene  of  the  prologue  is  Sheloga's  house  at 
Pskoff  in  1555.  Sheloga  is  absent  at  the  war  with  his 
friend  Tokmakoff.  The  voice  of  Vera  his  wife  is 
heard  singing  her  infant  daughter  Olga  to  sleep; 
Nadejda  Nasonoff,  her  sister,  endeavours  to  ascertain 
the  identity  of  Vera's  lover.  She  replies  that  she  has 
never  dared  to  breathe  his  name  even  in  prayer,  but 
she  relates  the  circumstances  of  her  betrayal.  During 
her  husband's  absence  at  the  war  a  number  of  troops 
returned  to  Pskoff  with  the  Tsar  at  their  head.  On 
her  way  to  the  Pechirsky  monastery,  for  devotional  pur- 
poses, she  lost  herself  and  fainted  from  fatigue.  Re- 
gfaininsf  consciousness,  she  found  herself  in  the  tent 
of  a  stranger,  who  gave  orders  for  her  to  be  taken 
home.     The  same  evening  the  stranger  sought  an  inter- 


2l6  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

view,  during  which  Vera  allowed  herself  to  be- 
come his  victim.  Soon  after  this  explanation  is  vouch- 
safed, Sheloga  and  Tokmakoff  arrive.  Vera  has  now 
conceived  a  strong  aversion  for  her  husband,  and  be- 
seeches him  to  leave  her.  To  his  inquiry  respecting  the 
origin  of  the  child,  Xadejda  makes  the  false  avowal 
of  motherhood.  These  familiar  with  the  action  of 
"  Pskovitianka  "  will  have  known  that  the  betrayer  was 
none  other  thin  Ivan  the  Terrible  himself,  and  that 
eventually,  on  recognising  Olga  as  his  own  child,  he 
strove  to  make  reparation.  "  Boyarina  Vera  Sheloga  " 
was  produced  at  the  Private  Opera,  ^Moscow,  in  1899, 
fulfilling,  at  this  performance,  its  function  of  prologue 
to  "  Pskovitianka."  Three  years  later  it  was  given  at 
the  Maryinsky  Theatre. 

No  sooner  were  the  two  works,  '*  Boyarina  Vera 
Sheloga"  and  "The  Tsar's  Betrothed,"  fairly  launched, 
than  Rimsky-Korsakoff  came  forward  with  "  The  Tale 
of  Tsar  Saltan,"  an  opera  in  the  melo-declamatory  style 
which,  by  virtue  of  its  subject,  its  manner  and 
its  quality,  is  comparable  with  "  Sadko."  *'  The  Tale 
of  Tsar  Saltan"  is  a  popular  Russian  folk-story,  but 
is  to  be  found  in  the  lore  of  other  nations.  The  im- 
mediate source  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  libretto,  which 
was  made  by  Eelsky,  is  Pushkin's  version  of  the  story, 
and  in  some  portions  of  the  text  the  original  lines  are 
preserved. 

Certain  quotations  from  Pushkin  figure  in  the  score. 
The  tale,  as  told  in  the  opera,  is  as  follows  : 

The  young  Tsar  Saltan,  whose  beauty  was  a  byword 
among  his  subjects,  and  who  was  in  the  habit  of  wan- 
dering forth  at  dusk  in  search  of  a  closer  knowledge 
of  his  capital,  overheard  one  evening  the  conversation 


"TSAR    SALTAN."  21/ 

of  three  sisters,  daughters  of  a  rich  merchant.  They 
were  exchanging  views  as  to  their  ideals  of  worldly 
happiness.  With  each  the  one  desideratum  was  mar- 
riage with  the  Tsar.  Should  that  come  to  pass,  said 
the  eldest,  she  would  bake  him  bread  from  the  finest 
flour  in  the  world.  The  second  would  weave  him  such 
linen  as  ne'er  yet  had  been  seen.  The  third,  whose 
acquired  accomplishments  were  few,  would,  however, 
perform  prodigious  feats  in  the  domain  of  motherhood. 
She  would  bear  the  sovereign  seven  hero-sons 
that  should  be  the  comeliest  in  his  kingdom.  Saltan, 
indifferent  to  the  prospect  of  food  and  raiment,  of  which 
he  was  little  in  need,  was  attracted  by  the  promise 
of  such  proud  fatherhood,  and  within  three  days  he 
married  the  youngest  sister.  Shortly  after  the  nup- 
tials Saltan  was  obliged  to  absent  himself  at  the  wars, 
and  in  order  that  his  bride  should  not  be  lonely  he  sent 
for  the  two  spinster  sisters  to  live  with  her.  They 
were  consumed  with  jealousy  which,  however,  they  dis- 
sembled with  more  or  less  success.  During  the  Tsar's 
absence  a  son  was  born  to  the  Tsaritsa.  A  message 
was  concocted  and  sent  to  the  Tsar  by  the  wicked  sis- 
ters, in  league  with  a  witch  (Babarikha),  to  the  effect 
that  his  young  wife  had  given  birth  "neither  to  a  son 
nor  a  daughter,  not  to  kittens,  mice  or  frogs,  but  to  a 
sort  of  monstrous  animal,"  and  a  message  was  brought 
in  return  that  the  mother  and  her  offspring  should  be 
confined  in  a  cask  and  dropped  into  the  sea.  Mother 
and  son  drifted  to  the  island  of  Bouyan,  where  the 
young  Tsarcvitch  Guidon  developed  into  a  vigorous 
hero.  A  swan  whom  he  saved,  with  his  bow  and  arrow, 
from  a  pursuing  kite,  initiated  him  into  the  arts  of 
magic,  and  he  was  able  to  raise  a  wondrous  city  from 


2l8  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

beneath  the  sea.  By  its  people  he  was  chosen  Tsar.  By 
means  of  his  transformation  into  a  bee,  wrought  by 
the  swan,  he  followed  some  of  Saltan's  vessels  and  saw 
his  father.  Returning  to  his  own  city.  Guidon  sighed 
for  the  joys  of  matrimon}-,  and  the  swan  gaining  know- 
ledge of  this,  took  her  proper  shape  as  a  lovely 
princess,  with  the  result  that  the  hippy  pair  soon 
after  sought  the  Tsaritsa's  benediction.  The  royal 
mother  was  not  long  left  in  loneliness.  The  fleet  of 
Saltan  was  sighted,  and  husband  and  wife  were  re- 
united. 

With  such  substance  as  this  for  his  libretto,  Rimsky- 
Korsakcff  could  hardly  fail  to  produce  the  best  results 
of  \\hich  he  was  capable,  and  "The  Tale  of  Tsar  Sal- 
tan" contains  in  its  many  arias  and  ariosos  some  de- 
lightful music.  These  vocal  pieces,  it  should  be  men- 
tioned, arc  not  divided  off  from  the  rest.  Here  again 
the  composer  dispenses  with  the  overture  and  the  pre- 
ludial  matter  to  each  of  the  acts  is  quite  brief,  with  the 
exception  of  that  preceding  the  second  act.  This,  to- 
gether with  the  introductions  to  the  first  act  and  the 
final  tableau,  form  the  material  of  a  symphonic  suite, 
which  received  performance  before  the  opera  itself.  The 
opera,  which  is  in  four  acts  and  a  prologue,  subdivided 
into  seven  tableaux,  was  produced  on  October  21,  1900, 
at  the  Solcdovnikoff  Theatre,  ]\Ioscow,  and  during  the 
composer's  lifetime  was  only  played  at  this  and  the  St. 
Petersburg  Private  Opera. 

In  this  year,  in  which  fell  the  thirty-fifth  anniver- 
sary of  the  first  Russian  s\'mphon}',  Rimsky-Korsa- 
koff  paid  another  visit  to  Brussels  in  order  to  conduct 
a  Russian  concert.     The  date  also  marks  his  retirement 


"SERVILIA.  219 

from  the  conductorship  of  the  Belaieff  symphony  con- 
certs to  which  he  had  been  appointed  in  1886. 

A  return  to  the  declamatory  style  came  in  1901,  the 
composer  having  now  arrived  at  the  conviction  that  in 
this  method  alone  lay  the  solution  of  the  problem  of 
the  musico-dramatic  art.  Aley's  drama,  "  Servilia," 
which  served  as  literary  basis  for  Rimsky-Korsakoff's 
opera  of  the  same  name,  has  a  feature  in  common  with 
"  Alliida,"  for  it  introduces  episodes  related  to  the  adop- 
tion of  Christianity.  The  action  of  "Servilia"  takes 
place  in  ancient  Rome  during*  the  time  of  Nero,  the 
actual  date  being  given  as  AD.  67. 

Hyspo  and  Egnatius,  both  strong  opponents  of 
Christianity,  decide  to  plot  against  the  Tribune  Valerius 
and  five  senators.  Valerius  is  in  love  with  Ser- 
vilia, the  daughter  of  the  senator  Soranus ;  she  is 
inclined  to  accept  Christianity.  Soranus  wishes  his 
daughter  to  marry  Trasea,  but  the  latter,  hearing  of 
the  understanding  between  Servilia  and  his  adopted  son 
Valerius,  expresses  a  determination  to  retire  in  his 
favour.  But  Egnatius,  the  freedman  of  Soranus,  who 
is  also  enamoured  of  Servilia,  involves  her  father  and 
Trasea  in  a  conspiracy  against  Sophonius,  the  Prefect, 
making  Servilia's  submission  the  price  of  their  safety. 
She  is  surprised  by  Egnatius  at  the  house  of  a  sooth- 
sa)'er  whom  she  has  come  to  consult  with  respect  to  the 
mysterious  disappearance  of  Valerius,  and  on  being  im- 
portuned, repulses  him  with  indignation.  He  leaves 
her,  with  the  object  of  providing  her  with  an  oppor- 
tunity for  reflection,  and  she  attempts  flight,  but  is  un- 
able to  obtain  egress.  She  then  invokes  the  aid  of  the 
Christian  God  whom  she  vows  in  future  to  worship. 
In    the    last    act    the    conspirators    are    called    before 


220  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

the  tribunal.  Trasea  and  Soranus  are  sentenced  to  ban- 
ishment and  Serviha  is  to  be  handed  to  Egnatius 
on  payment  of  a  ransom.  Just  as  the  judgment  is  de- 
hvered  \'alerius  returns,  and,  in  Xcrc's  name,  breaks 
up  the  tribunal.  Servilia  announces  in  dismay  th:it, 
presuming  Valerius's  death,  she  has  renounced  all 
earthly  joys.  The  opera  ends  with  the  death  of  Ser- 
vilia, \^alerius's  attempted  suicide,  frustrated  by 
Trasea,  and  a  general  acclamation  of  the  Christian 
Deity. 

Apart  from  the  resemblance  to  "  Mozart  and  Salieri  " 
arising  from  its  declamator}'  tendency,  "  Servilia  "  has 
little  in  common  with  the  earlier  work.  It  has  a  large 
cast,  the  scheme  of  which  permits,  however,  of  the 
"doubling"  of  parts,  numerous  auxiliary  characters,  a 
chorus,  and  the  inclusion  of  some  dances,  such  as  that 
of  warriors  celebrating  Minerva's  victory  over  the  Titans 
in  Act  I  and  the  dance  of  Maenads  in  Act  II,  brings 
it  much  nearer  the  category  of  the  conventional  opera 
than  "  Mozart  and  Salieri."  While  commending  the  use 
of  modal  themes,  when  referring  to  the  religious  in- 
terest, one  is  obliged  to  take  exception  to  certain  incon- 
gruities in  the  score,  notably  the  music  of  the  scene 
between  Egnatius  and  .Servilia  in  the  house  of  Lccusta 
the  soothsayer. 

In  the  spinning-song  at  the  opening  of  Act  II  the 
composer  becomes  quite  IMendelssohnian,  and  the 
naivete  of  the  passage  in  which  Servilia  avows  her 
love  for  Valerius  belongs  neither  to  the  century  it  is  in- 
tended to  depict  nor  to  that  in  which  it  was  written. 
Where  heroic  and  barbaric  colouring  are  needed  suc- 
cess is  achieved.  There  is  some  chromaticism  which 
suggests   the   influence   of   Wagner,   which    may   else- 


WAGNERIAN   INFLUENCE.  221 

where  be  traced  in  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  later  work,  but 
the  employment  of  leading-motive  is  by  no  means  over- 
done. "  Servilia,"  which  is  in  five  acts,  was  produced 
at  the  Maryinsk}'  Theatre,  St.  Petersburg,  on  Novem- 
ber I,  1902,  and  two  years  later  was  mounted  at  the 
Moscow  Private  Theatre,  which  had  now  emerged  from 
some  financial  difficulties.  The  opera  was  not  well  re- 
ceived. This  is  attributable,  according  to  Cheshikin, 
to  the  deficiencies  of  the  libretto  rather  than  to  musical 
weakness.  lie  takes  exception  to  the  over-hasty  as- 
sumption of  the  veil,  announced  by  Servilia  at  the 
moment  of  her  lover's  return,  and  he  complains  that  as 
her  mental  conflict  during  the  process  of  conversion  is 
not  revealed  to  the  audience  its  result  places  too  great 
a  strain  upon  the  imagination. 

The  Wagnerian  influence  already  noticeable  in  "  Ser- 
vilia" becomes  really  conspicuous  in  Rimsky-Korsa- 
koff's next  opera,  "  Koshchei  the  Immortal" — finished 
in  1902 — in  which,  to  quote  Cheshikin,  the  composer 
"  turns  suddenly  from  Dargomijsky  to  Wagner." 
While  remaining  faithful  to  the  declamatory  method 
and  employing  it  with  a  marked  increase  of  power, 
Rimsky-Korsakoff  now  began  somewhat  to  overload 
his  score  with  harmonic  complexities.  But  notwith- 
standing its  stylistic  modifications  '*  Koshchei "  is  in  the 
same  class  as  far  as  concerns  subject — which  is  again 
derived  from  folk-lore — with  "  Sadko "  and  "  Tsar 
Saltan."  Its  plan,  the  work  of  E.  M.  Petrovsky,  does 
not  confine  itself  to  one  particular  story,  but  embraces 
material  from  a  variety  of  tales  in  which  the  mon- 
strous figure  of  Koshchei  appears.  We  have  already 
made  the  acquaintance  of  this  fearsome  object  in  die 
Triglav  scene  of  "  ^Ilada,"  and  he  is  one  of  the  chief 


222  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

characters  in  Stravinsky's  ballet,  "The  Firebird." 
"  Koshchei,"  says  Ralston  in  his  "  Russian  Folk-Tales," 
"is  merely  one  of  the  many  incarnations  of  the  dark 
spirit  ....  sometimes  he  is  described  as  altogether 
serpent-like  in  form;  sometimes  he  seems  to  be  of  a 
mixed  nature,  partly  human  and  partly  ophidian,  but 
in  some  stories  he  is  apparently  framed  after  the 
fashion  of  a  man  ....  he  is  called  'immortal'  or 
'deathless'  because  of  his  superiority  to  the  ordinary 
laws  of  existence  ....  sometimes  his  '  death ' — that 
is,  the  object  with  which  his  life  is  indissolubly  con- 
nected— does  not  exist  within  his  bod^^"  In  "  Mlada  " 
he  is  described  as  the  "  Man-Skeleton,"  which  appears 
to  support  the  contention  that  the  name  is  derived  from 
the  Russian  word  "  Kost,"  a  bone.  The  opera  is  in 
three  tableaux.  The  first  depicts  "Autumn  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Koshchei."  The  "  inexhaustibly  beauti- 
ful "  Tsarevna  another  frequent  figure  in  Russian  folk- 
lore) is  held  captive  by  Koshchei  and  bewails  her  separ- 
ation from  Ivan  Korolevich,  her  lover.  Koshchei  is  m 
doubt  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  his  "death"  and  in- 
quires of  Bouria  Bogatyr,  a  benevolent  hero,  as  to  its 
exact  situation.  He  is  informed  that  it  lies  in  the  tears 
of  Koshcheievna,  his  daughter.  In  the  second  tableau, 
Koshcheievna,  emerging  from  her  palace  with  a  flower 
vase  in  her  hand,  announces  that  the  one  seeking  Kosh- 
chei's  death  must  drink  of  the  water  in  the  vase. 
Tsarevna's  lover,  Ivan  Korolevich,  of  w^hom  Kosh-' 
chcievna  is  also  enamoured,  now  enters  and  drinks  at 
her  bidding;  in  consequence  he  loses  all  memory  of 
his  betrothed.  On  being  kissed  by  Koshcheievna  he 
swoons,  but  just  as  she  is  about  to  kill  him  with  her 
sword,  Bouria  Bogat}'r  returns  and  awakens  Ivan  with 


"KOSHCHti*   THE   DEATHLESS."  223 

his  song".  The  latter  then  learns  that  his  sweetheart  is 
thinking  of  him,  and  he  flies  away  on  a  magic  carpet. 
In  the  third  tableau,  ni  which  there  is  a  return  to  the 
first  scene,  Ivan  Korolevich  rejoins  Tsarevna,  and  they 
prepare  to  leave  the  kingdom  of  Koshchei,  but  Kosh- 
chcievna  intervenes  and  tries  to  secure  the  affections  of 
Ivan,  promising  Tsarevna's  freedom  as  a  condition  of 
his  capitulation.  The  terrible  Koshchei,  aroused  by 
the  discussion,  questions  his  daughter  as  to  whether 
she  has  his  "  death  "  in  safe  keeping.  He  gets  an  un- 
looked-for repl}^  Tsarevna,  overcome  by  pity,  kisses 
the  forehead  of  the  disappointed  woman.  Kcsh- 
cheievna  bursts  into  tears  and  is  transformed  into  a 
weeping  willow.  Koshchei  is  killed  by  this  exposure  of 
his  "  death,"  his  kingdom  collapses  and  Bourii  Bogat}'r 
opens  the  gate  and  releases  the  lovers. 

An  examination  of  the  work  as  a  whole  drives  one 
to  the  opinion  that  it  is  the  subject  rather  than  the  music 
which  is  typical  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff  as  a  poet;  and 
as  poet  the  composer  does  not  belong  to  the  glorifiers 
of  beauty  unadorned  by  purpose.  Objective  as  his  at- 
titude invariably  was,  he  did  not  entirely  exclude 
philosophy  from  the  narration  of  such  a  tale  as  "  Kosh- 
chei," and  the  libretto  is  permeated  by  a  symbolism 
which  is  very  beautiful  and  not  altogether  de- 
void of  subtlety.  As  for  the  music,  it  is  hardly  on  the 
same  plane  and  does  not  seem  to  be  couched  in  suitable 
'terms.  The  characterisation  of  Koshchei  is  successful 
because  in  this  case  the  Wagnerian  manner  is  not  an 
incongruity;  the  passage  which  accompanies  the  loca- 
tion of  Koshchei's  "death,"  in  the  first  tableau,  may  be 
quoted  as  an  instance.  But,  generally  speaking,  the 
harmonisation  is  too  harsh  to   form  a   fitting  musical 


224  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

commentary  for  a  fairy-tale  of  which  the  message  is 
one  of  hope  and  not  of  pessimism.  Even  in  a  more  or 
less  lyrical  moment,  such  as  Tsarevna's  slumber-song 
in  the  final  tableau,  where  there  is  a  certain  melodic 
lightness  of  heart,  the  harmonisation  gives  no  hint  of 
coming  freedom. 

On  the  production  of  the  opera  in  October,  1902,  at 
the  Moscow  Private  Theatre,  it  was  received  with  great 
warmth  by  certain  critics,  notably  by  Yastrebtzeff,  who, 
in  a  long  and  elaborate  eulogy,  dwells  upon  the  en- 
chanting quality  of  the  music,  and  classing  "  Koshchei " 
with  "  Snegourochka,"  the  "  Triglav  "  act  of  ''Mlada," 
"  Sadko  "  and  "  Tsar  Saltan,"  concludes  by  placing  it 
among  the  perfect  specimens  of  musical  art. 

After  "Koshchei"  Rimsky-Korsakoff  made  another 
modification  in  style,  adopting  once  more  a  melo-decla- 
matory  method.  This  appears  to  have  been  rendered 
imperative  by  the  nature  of  the  subject.  "Pan  Voy- 
voda"  (libretto  by  Tumeneff)  deals  with  Polish  life  in 
the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  It  is  dedicated 
to  the  memory  of  Chopin,  and  one  does  not  have 
to  proceed  far  in  an  examination  of  the  work  to  per- 
ceive that  Korsakoff  has  paid  a  solid  tribute  to  the 
Polish  composer.  "Pan  \'oyevoda "  employs  several 
of  the  Polish  dance  rhythms,  but  Rimsky-Korsakoff 
had  evidently  made  up  his  mind  not  to  tolerate  the 
division  of  such  pieces.  The  orchestral  introductions 
are  quite  short,  and  even  that  of  the  third  act — a 
mazurka — is  not  only  quite  brief,  but  is  dove-tailed 
into  the  scene  which  it  precedes.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  in  "  Pan  Yoyevoda  "  the  composer  was  aiming  once 
more  at  legitimacy  of  construction  and  simplicity  of 
matter.     The  "plot"  is  as  follows: 


"  PAN    VOYEVODA."  225 

The  first  scene  shows  us  a  mill  in  the  forest — the 
trysting  place  of  Eoleslav  Chaplinsky  and  Maria  Os- 
kolskaya,  both  of  noble  birth.  The  lovers  are  inter- 
rupted by  the  arrival  of  the  marshal,  who  is  to  make 
suitable  preparations  at  the  clearing  by  the  mill,  the 
halting  place  of  Pan  Vcyevoda's  hunting-party.  Maria 
confides  to  her  lover,  as  they  leave  the  spot,  that  she 
once  met  Pan  Voyevoda,  but  that  he  appeared  too  much 
embarrassed  to  return  her  salutation.  In  reality,  it 
transpires,  Pan  Voyevoda  has  been  smitten  by  Maria's 
charm,  and  when  his  sweetheart,  Yadviga  Zapolskaya, 
learns  of  this  she  angrily  orders  a  resumption  of  the 
hunt.  Presently  Maria  and  Chaplinsky  return  and 
find  Pan  Voyevoda  alone.  Thinking  that  Maria  has 
come  to  surrender  herself  to  him,  he  attempts  to  em- 
brace her,  but  is  prevented  by  Chaplinsky,  w^ho  explains 
that  he  is  Maria's  accepted  lover.  Pan  Voyevoda  at 
first  ignores  him,  but  fearing  his  menacing  attitude, 
calls  the  hunt  to  his  assistance.  Chaplinsky  offers  re- 
sistance but  is  wounded  and  captured.  Maria  swoons. 
Pan  Voyevoda  introduces  her  as  his  future  bride  and 
invites  the  hunt  to  his  wedding,  much  to  the  dismay 
and  astonishment  of  Yadviga. 

The  second  act  brings  us  to  the  door  of  a  little  hut 
where  dw-ells  Dorosha,  a  sorcerer,  w^hom  Yadviga  has 
come  to  consult.  Dorosha  brings  a  bowd  of  water,  and 
Yadviga,  gazing  into  it,  sees  a  vision  of  Pan  Voye- 
voda's  wedding  with  Maria.  Frenzied  w^ith  jealousy 
and  bent  on  revenge  she  prevails  upon  Dorosha  to  give 
her  some  poison.  An  offer  of  help  from  Olesnetski, 
a  young  neighbour,  who  is  in  love  w^ith  her  and  has 
overheard  part  of  the  conversation,  somewhat  unnerves 

16 


226  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Yadviga,  but  she  quickly  regains  her  self-possession, 
and,  feigning  an  affection  for  him,  binds  him  to  secrecy. 
They  hear  footsteps  and  hide.  Chaplinsky  enters 
with  his  friend  Poslavski.  The  former  is  trying  to  re- 
gain the  freedom  of  Maria,  who,  he  hears,  has  been 
terrified  into  submission.  With  the  aid  of  his 
friends  he  decides  to  fall  upon  Pan  Voyevoda  on  the 
wedding  day. 

Act  III  opens  with  the  wedding  feast  at  Voyevoda's 
house.  Having  toasted  the  bride  and  bridegroom  the 
guests  go  out  into  the  garden.  Yadviga  enters,  but  is 
interrupted  at  the  moment  when  she  is  about  to  put  the 
poison  in  Maria's  glass.  On  the  return  of  the  party, 
Yadviga  betrays  Chaplinsky's  plan,  and  on  the  latter's 
entrance,  he  finds  Pan  Voyevoda  prepared. 

In  the  last  act  the  scene  remains  unchanged.  Voye- 
voda effects  Chaplinsky's  capture,  and  infuriated  by 
Alaria's  pleadings,  proposes  to  kill  him.  Yadviga  now 
persuades  Olesnetski  to  introduce  the  poison  into 
Maria's  glass  but  seeing  Voyevoda  embrace  Yadviga, 
to  whom  he  is  trying  to  make  amends  for  his  fickleness 
to  her,  Olesnetski  changes  his  plans,  and  when  ^laria 
and  Voyevoda  drink,  it  is  the  latter  who  dies. 

"  Pan  Voyevoda  "  contains  many  charming  numbers. 
The  chorus  of  women,  the  comic  slumber  song  (Maria 
and  chorus),  a  pretty  vocal  mazurka  and  an  orchestral 
Krakoviak  in  the  first  act,  an  instrumental  intermezzo 
("  Nocturne  ")  which  has  a  certain  Chopinesque  charac- 
ter; in  the  second,  the  opening  mazurka,  already  re- 
ferred to;  in  the  third,  the  polacca,  the  swan  song,  to 
the  accompaniment  of  Maria's  lute,  and  the  Kozachok, 
with  which  the  act  concludes,  are  all  well  worthy  of 
mention. 


KORSAKOFF   AS    ALLEGORIST.  22/ 

This  work,  which  was  composed  during  1902-3,  was 
produced  at  Prince  Tsereteli's  Private  Theatre,  St. 
Petersburg,  in  October,  1904,  and  in  Moscow  at  the 
Great  Theatre  twelve  months  later. 

"The  Tale  of  the  Invisible  City  of  Kitej  and  the 
Maiden  Fevronia,"  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  last  opera  but 
one,  has  for  its  subject  a  religio-mystic  legend  which 
contains  features  recalling  some  of  the  stories  from 
which  certain  of  his  earlier  works  are  derived.  The 
element  of  the  allegorical  to  be  found  in  "  Snegou- 
rochka  "  and  "  Koshchei,"  the  super-naturalistic  pheno- 
mena of  "  Tsar  Saltan  "  and  the  religious  teachings  of 
"  Servilia,"  each  has  its  counterpart  in  the  literary 
material  of  "  Kitej."  As  to  the  significance  of  the  work 
in  relation  to  the  aesthetic  development  of  its  composer, 
this  may  be  determined  more  or  less  by  reference  to  its 
resemblance,  in  virtue  of  its  spiritual  message,  to  "  Par- 
sifal." The  operatic  style  of  "Kitej"  is  on  the  whole 
lyrical  or  melodic,  with  occasional  lapses  into  melo- 
declamation.  It  is  in  four  acts  and  six  tableaitx  and 
the  libretto  is  by  Bielsky. 

In  the  first  act,  which  takes  place  in  a  forest  near 
Little  Kitej,  the  Maiden  Fevronia  offers  a  thanksgiving 
to  nature,  and  calls  around  her  many  representatives  of 
the  animal  world.  While  surrounded  by  them  she  is 
surprised  by  Prince  Vsevolod,  the  son  of  the  ruler  of 
Kitej,  who,  overcome  by  her  beauty,  proposes  an  ex- 
change of  rings.  During  the  love  scene  which  follows, 
a  number  of  soldiers  enter  the  wood  and  they  inquire 
from  Fevronia  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  prince,  who 
has  just  left  her  side.  In  return  she  asks  the  prince's 
name,  and  learns  his  origin  with  the  greatest 
astonishment. 


228  A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

A  public  place  in  Little  Kitej  is  the  scene  of  the 
second  act,  in  the  early  part  of  which  a  minstrel  sings, 
to  the  accompaniment  of  his  guslee,  relating  that  he  has 
seen  the  Virgin  walking  on  the  walls  of  Kitej  and  pro- 
claiming a  prophecy  to  the  effect  that  ruin  threatens  the 
city.  The  citizens,  after  the  first  shock,  are  disinclined 
to  attach  importance  to  the  story,  but  at  the  moment 
when  the  nuptial  procession  of  Fevronia  and  the  young 
prince,  now  affianced,  is  about  to  begin,  the  Tartars 
arrive  on  the  scene  and,  having  obtained  the  aid  of 
Grishka  Kuterma — a  drunken  rascal  who  consents  to 
act  as  their  guide — they  seize  Fevronia  and  proceed  on 
their  way  to  attack  Kitej.  Fevronia  prays  that  the  city 
may  be  rendered  invisible. 

The  third  act  is  in  two  tableaux.  The  first  shows  an 
open  place  in  front  of  the  cathedral  of  Great  Kitej. 
News  is  brought  that  the  Tartars  are  advancing,  and  a 
boy  is  sent  to  the  loftiest  point  of  the  cathedral  to  as- 
certain whether  there  are  any  signs  of  divine  interfer- 
ence. He  reports  at  first  that  the  Tartars  are  in  sight 
and  that  the  city  is  in  flames,  but  when  the  people  in- 
voke the  Virgin  they  hear  from  the  boy  that  a  white  veil 
is  descending  over  the  site  of  Kitej.  They  go  out  to 
meet  the  enemy.  The  second  tableau  pictures  the  lake 
on  which  the  city  stands.  The  Tartars  are  informed  by 
their  traitor-guide  that  Kitej  is  enveloped  in  a  thick 
mist.  Supposing  Grishka  to  have  betrayed  them,  the 
invaders  bind  him  to  a  tree  and  encamp  themselves  for 
the  night.  Two  of  the  chieftains  brawl  over  the  ques- 
tion of  possessing  Fevronia  and  one  of  them  is  killed. 
Whilst  the  Tartars  are  asleep  Fevronia  severs  Grishka's 
bonds    and    they  set    off    together.     The  Tartars,  on 


"  KITEJ."  229 

awakening,  see  the  reflection  of  Kitej  on  the  lake's  sur- 
face, but  the  city  itself  is  invisible. 

Act  IV  is  again  in  two  tableaux.  The  fugitives  are 
seen  \n  the  forest.  Grishka  sneers  at  Fevronia's 
fatigue,  and  she  prays  that  he  may  be  endowed  with  the 
attribute  of  sympathy.  Grishka,  regretting  his  ignor- 
ance of  the  form  of  worship  demanded  by  Fevronia's 
deity,  addresses  himself  to  Earth,  but  on  perceiving  a 
Satanic  figure,  takes  to  flight.  Fevronia  then  stretches 
herself  on  the  ground.  The  trees  are  illuminated,  and 
gold  and  silver  flowers  spring  up  around  her.  The 
voice  of  Alkonost,  a  bird  of  Paradise,  is  heard  pro- 
claiming that  those  to  whom  he  sings  die.  Fevronia 
answers  that  she  fears  not  death,  and  sees  a  vision  of 
her  betrothed  come  from  Paradise  to  meet  her.  Sirin, 
a  second  bird,  now  smgs  that  he  represents  Joy  and 
that  to  whom  he  sings  will  live  everlastingly.  The 
Prince  offers  Fevronia  the  bread  brought  with  him 
from  Paradise,  and  tells  her  that  in  eating  it  she  will 
gain  unabating  happiness.  They  depart  together.  The 
second  and  last  scene  is  that  of  Kitej  transformed  into 
Paradise  itself,  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  its  people. 
The  lovers  are  admitted  and  prepare  for  a  heavenly 
union. 

"Kitej"  was  composed  between  1903  and  1905  and 
produced  at  the  Maryinsky  Theatre  on  February  7, 
1907.  A  year  later  it  was  put  into  the  bill  at  the  Mos- 
cow Great  Theatre. 

From  the  occasional  side-lights  cast  upon  the  char- 
acter of  our  subject,  the  reader  may  perhaps  have 
already  gathered  that  Rimsky-Korsakoff  was  not  the 
sort  of  man  to  brook  any  kind  of  injustice  without  pro- 
test.    Reference  has  been  made  to  the  rebuke  adrain- 


230  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

istered  to  the  Imperial  Operatic  authority.  This  dees 
not  appear  to  have  been  attended  with  any  disastrous 
consequences.  But  when,  in  1905,  Rimsky-Korsakoff 
felt  called  upon  openly  to  resent  the  interferences  of 
the  Imperial  Russian  Musical  Society  in  the  affairs  of 
the  St.  Petersburg  Conservatoire  on  the  one  hand,  and, 
on  the  other,  the  over-strict  supervision  to  which  music- 
students  were  subjected  by  the  police,  the  worthy  pro- 
fessor found  himself  summarily  deprived  of  his  official 
position.  That  he  had  used  his  influence  to  prevent 
the  students  themselves  from  demonstrating  in  favour 
of  reform  was  the  subject  of  misinterpretation,  and 
this,  instead  of  being  considered  as  lessening  the  ori- 
ginal offence,  was  brought  as  additional  evidence 
against  him. 

The  matter,  which  for  a  time  assumed  a  raiher  grivc 
complexion,  ended  happily,  and  after  he  had  been  sup- 
ported by  several  colleagues  who  resigned  their  pro- 
fessorships in  a  body,  by  way  of  protest,  the  Conserva- 
toire succeeded  in  obtaniing  a  measure  of  self-govern- 
ment, Glazcunoff  was  appointed  at  its  head,  and 
Rimsky-Korsakoff  was  reinstated. 

He  was  now  at  work  upon  his  last  opera.  "  The 
Golden  Cock"  cannot  perhaps  be  considered  as  an  im- 
pressive conclusion  to  the  dramatic  labours  of  its  com- 
poser ;  one  would  rather  have  seen  in  that  position  such 
earlier  and  more  thoroughly  representative  works  as 
"Tsar  Saltan,"  "Sadko"  or  "  Snegourochka."  But 
viewed  as  a  satire  upon  human  foibles,  as  a  specimen  of 
nationalistic  art  or  as  a  final  chapter  in  the  story  of 
his  musico-dramatic  development,  it  is  a  work  which 
deserves  not  merely  such  attention  as  may  be  given  it 
in  a  perusal  of  its  score,  but  that  fuller  exposition  only 


"THE  GOLDEN  COCK."  23  I 

properly  to  be  secured  from  stage  performance.  If  in 
"The  Golden  Cock"  we  fail  to  discover  the  wealth  of 
harmonic  inspiration  which  we  are  accustomed  to  ex- 
pect from  this  composer,  we  shall  at  least  observe  both 
that  it  contains  the  very  essentials  of  Russian  musical 
nationalism  and  that  the  firm  hand  of  experience  has 
been  at  work  in  tracing  a  steady  course  and  thus  over- 
coming the  difficult  and  ever-present  problems  of  con- 
struction. The  melo-declamatory  method  has  again 
been  resorted  to  in  the  solo  portions,  the  formal  overture 
is  dispensed  with,  the  leading-motive  has  been  used 
with  a  lightness  of  touch  that  has  contributed  greatly 
to  its  effectiveness,  and  the  comic  aspect  of  the  story 
has  been  translated  into  the  music  in  a  fashion  avoid- 
ing all  appearance  of  undue  emphasis.  The  story  of 
"The  Golden  Cock"  is  derived  from  Pushkin,  and 
while,  as  its  librettist  points  out,  its  subject  is  such  as 
could  win  favour  in  any  clime  and  a*t  any  period,  Rim- 
sky-Korsakoff  can  be  said  to  have  given  it  a  dress  which 
•is  unmistakably  Russian. 

The  opera  is  in  three  acts.  The  fairy  tale  is  "  intro- 
duced "  by  an  astrologer  who  appears  before  the  cur- 
tain and,  in  a  brief  preamble,  assures  the  audience  that 
though  fantastic  in  its  style,  the  fable  to  be  recounted 
has  a  moral  which  is  sound.  A  few  bars  of  sombre 
chords  prepare  the  spectators  for  the  grave  happenings 
they  are  about  to  witness.  King  Dodon  laments  from 
his  throne  the  weightiness  of  his  crown ;  he  is  harassed 
by  his  enemies,  who  have  so  little  sympathy  that,  at  the 
very  moment  when  he  is  carefully  guarding  the  north- 
ern boundary  of  his  kingdom,  they  show  a  peculiarly 
irritating  perverseness  by  attacking  him  from  the  south. 
He   invites   suggestions   for  the   strengthening   of   his 


2p  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSlC. 

kingdom's  defences.  His  two  sons,  Guidon  and 
Aphron,  respond  with  two  plans,  totally  different  but 
equally  absurd.  The  old  general,  Polkan,  infuriated 
at  the  delight  with  which  Dodon  receives  these  mani- 
festations of  genius,  enunciates  some  home-truths  in 
regard  to  the  principles  of  attack  and  defence,  but  is 
denounced  as  a  traitor.  During  the  tumult  which  fol- 
lows there  enters  the  old  astrologer  who  reminds  the 
King  of  the  many  sage  counsels  given  to  his  royal 
parent,  and  offers,  as  a  safeguard  against  invasion,  a 
golden  cock,  who  at  every  appearance  of  danger  will 
crow  a  warning.  The  King  and  his  people  have  but  to 
sleep  and  to  put  their  trust  in  Chanticleer.  Dodon  is 
overjoyed  at  this  facile  solution  of  all  his  problems  and 
promises  a  liberal  reward.  After  a  plentiful  repast  he 
retires  to  his  couch  and  dreams  of  a  beautiful  unknown. 
Rudely  awakened  by  the  v;atch-bird,  he  dispatches  his 
army,  in  charge  of  his  two  sons,  to  meet  the  enemy, 
rearranges  his  pillows  and  sinks  once  more  into  slum- 
ber. Hardly  is  he  again  in  the  company  of  the  lady 
of  his  dream  when  the  cock  renews  his  warning  and 
Polkan  announces  that  things  are  going  very  badly. 
Dodon  resolves  therefore  to  accompany  his  general  to 
the  front. 

In  the  second  act  they  discover  their  army  to  have 
been  defeated  and  find  that  the  two  princes  are  among 
the  fallen.  At  dawn  they  perceive  a  tent,  evidently 
belonging  to  the  enemy.  They  decide  to  attack  the 
tent  in  force  and  train  a  cannon  upon  it.  Polkan  gives 
the  word  to  fire,  but  at  that  moment  the  curtain  of  the 
tent  is  drawn  aside  and  a  beautiful  and  queenly  figure 
emerges  (to  the  music  of  Dodon's  dream).  The  scene 
in  the  tent  where  Dodon  gradually  succumbs  to  the 


THE  CENSOR  AND   "THE  GOLDEN   COCK."         233 

charms  of  the  Queen  Shemakhansky,  who,  after  exer- 
cising all  her  powers  of  seduction,  prevails  upon  the 
old  man  to  sing  and  even  to  dance,  and  finally  obtains 
the  honour  of  a  royal  proposal  of  marriage,  is  accom- 
panied by  music  which  is  doubly  characteristic  of  Rim- 
sky-Korsakoff,  because  it  reflects  so  well  the  satirical 
humour  of  the  dramatic  situation,  and  because  the  op- 
portunity offered  by  the  Oriental  colouring  of  the  scene 
is,  as  one  would  suppose,  firmly  seized  by  the  composer 
with  both  hands.  The  King's  song,  described  by  the 
enchantress  as  burning  with  the  flame  of  love,  is  cruder 
and  more  grotesque  than  that  of  Beckmesser,  while  the 
languorous  strain  of  the  erstwhile  dream-music  is  now 
metamorphosed  to  suggest  the  charmer's  mocking. 

In  the  third  act  Dodon  having  returned  home  with 
his  bride,  is  reminded  of  his  promised  reward  by  the 
astrologer,  who  claims  nothing  less  than  the  person  of 
the  Queen  herself.  Dodon,  infuriated  at  this  imper- 
tinence, slays  the  old  man,  but  is  not  permitted  long  to 
survive  him,  being  laid  low  by  the  cock  with  one  swift 
stroke  of  its  beak.  There  is  a  chorus  of  terror  from  the 
citizens  and  darkness  falls  upon  the  scene.  When  light 
returns,  neither  the  Queen  nor  the  cock  are  to  be  seen. 
After  the  curtain's  fall  the  astrologer  comes  forward 
and  assures  the  audience  that  in  this  sanguinary  con- 
clusion there  is  really  no  cause  for  consternation,  ex- 
plaining that  the  only  mortal  figures  in  the  drama  are 
himself  and  the  Queen. 

"The  Golden  Cock"  was  censored  during  the  inter- 
val between  its  composition  and  its  composer's  death, 
and  it  was  not  until  May,  1910,  that  it  was  produced  at 
Zimin's  Private  Theatre  in  Moscow. 

Rimsky-Korsakoff   died   somewhat   unexpectedly   of 


234  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

angina  pectoris  on  June  8,  1908,  and  it  is  supposed  that 
his  chagrin  at  the  fate  of  his  last  opera  was  contribu- 
tory to  the  suddenness  of  his  demise.  Several  post- 
humous works  were  found,  among  which  were  his  edi- 
tion of  Moussorgsky's  abortive  opera,  "  Marriage  " — • 
since  published — and  his  treatise  on  orchestration. 

This  somewhat  lengthy  chapter  must  not  be  con- 
cluded without  a  final  summary  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff's 
\'aried  musical  activities.  First  and  foremost  comes 
his  work  as  a  nationalistic  propagandist,  in  which  sphere 
he  firmly  upheld  the  Glinkist  principle  that  the  nation 
must  be  considered  as  creators  and  the  composer  rather 
as  "  arranger "  of  the  popular  contribution.  In  this 
capacity  Korsakoff  must  be  acclaimed  as  the  most  ar- 
dently patriotic  composer  yet  seen  in  Russia.  The  stu- 
dent of  his  operas  will  see  that  he  took  a  liberal  view 
as  to  what  could  be  considered  to  constitute  true 
nationalism  in  music  and  in  music-drama.  In  each  of 
them  there  was  an  element  of  the  nationalistic;  either 
tlie  subject  was  drawn  from  history,  from  folk-lore — 
and  in  the  latter  case  his  affinity  for  the  Oriental 
helped  him  the  better  to  illustrate  material  which  itself 
was  tinged,  by  reason  of  its  origin,  with  Eastern  colour 
— or,  as  in  the  case  of  "  jMozart  and  Salieri,"  he  adopted 
a  work  which  was  fully  recognised  as  a  masterpiece 
from  the  pen  of  Russia's  greatest  poet,  and  thus 
aroused  the  interest  of  the  public  by  means  of  a  new 
light  cast  by  him  on  an  art  product  already  regarded 
as  an  ornament  of  the  literature  of  its  creator's  country. 

Rimsky-Korsakoff  was  a  prolific  song-writer  and 
published  some  eighty  "melodies"  and  "romances." 
Examination  of  these  will  give  a  fairly  clear  insight 
into  his  talents  and  limitations   as  pure  music-maker. 


KORSAKOFF   AS    TEACHER.  235 

In  "  The  Xymph,''  Op.  56,  for  instance,  wc  find  a  melody 
sufficiently  lacking  in  lyrical  grace  to  suggest  that  it 
might  have  been  an  essay  in  Dargomijskian  declama- 
tion, whereas  when,  as  in  his  setting  of  Maikoff's 
"  ]\Ielody  from  the  Ganges "  or  in  that  of  the  same 
poet's  "Song  of  the  Orient,"  he  hears  the  call  of  the 
East,  the  composer  appears  always  at  his  very  best. 
When,  as  in  such  specimens  as  "  Night,"  he  attempts 
the  actual  creation  of  a  lyric,  he  is  far  from  reaching 
the  heights  attained  in  "  The  Rose  Enslaves  the  Night- 
ingale," one  of  his  earliest  and  choicest  vocal  com- 
positions. 

To  the  choral  repertory  he  made  several  notable  con- 
tributions. One  of  these,  "  The  Doom  of  Oleg,"  for 
tenor  and  bass,  male  choir  and  orchestra,  was  given  at 
the  Newcastle-on-T}'ne  Festival  in  IQ09.  Special  men- 
tion may  be  made  of  the  fifteen  folk-songs  for  mixed 
chorus,  Op.  19,  and  the  "  Gloria,"  Op.  21,  for  chorus  and 
orchestra,  and  it  is  of  interest  to  note  that  his  last  num- 
bered work  was  the  "  Doubinoushka,"  for  chorus  and 
orchestra.  Op.  62. 

Both  as  composer  and  teacher  he  has  played  a  large 
part  in  the  advancement  of  the  art  of  orchestration,  and 
his  pedagogic  labours  are  best  eulogised  by  an 
enumeration  of  his  many  eminent  pupils,  among  whom 
may  be  counted  Glazouncff,  Liadoff,  Arensky,  Ippoli- 
toff-Ivanoff,  Grechaninoff,  Wihtol,  Tcherepnin,  A. 
Taneieff  and  Stravinsky.  By  no  means  his  least  achieve-' 
ment  was  that  course  of  study  which  enabled  him  to 
prove  to  those  w4io  levelled  the  reproach  of  amateurish- 
ness at  the  "  Koutchkisti "  that  the  nationalistic  feeling 
in  music  was  not  necessarily  dissipated  by  a  knowledge 
of  the  approved  principles  of  musical  theory.     It  has 


236  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

been  said  that  Rimsky-Korsakoff  must  verily  hive  been 
created  for  the  National  Epos  in  Russian  music.  In 
him  we  see  the  Russian  who,  though  not  by  any  means 
satisfied  with  Russia  as  he  finds  it,  does  not  set  himself 
to  hurl  a  series  of  passionate  but  ineffective  indictments 
against  things  as  they  are,  but  who  raises  an  ideal  and 
dees  his  utmost  to  show  how  best  that  ideal  may  be 
attained.  He  has  been  compared  with  his  own  Fev- 
ronia  from  ''  Kitej,"  seeking  inspiration  from  Nature. 
His  personality  appears  to  have  been  reflected  by  his 
choice  of  subject  in  his  operatic  works,  in  which  we  find 
him  so  frequently  glorifying  the  virtue  of  imagination, 
so  plainly  voicing  that  belief  in  the  "  fairies "  which 
has  been  the  theme  of  more  than  one  of  our  modern 
British  dramatists. 


PART    III. 
THE    DECLINE    OF    NATIONALISM. 


GLAZOUNOFF. 

BY  those  at  all  acquainted  with  the  sociological  his- 
tory of  Russia  it  will  readily  be  believed  that, 
once  the  immediate  influence  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff  was 
removed,  the  star  of  Nationalism  began  to  wane.  One 
of  the  remarkable  phenomena  to  be  noticed  as  belong- 
ing to  a  nation  whose  character  consists  of  some  quite 
baffling  contradictory  traits,  is  that  while  the  govern- 
ment pursues  a  course  of  consistently  equivocal  be- 
haviour towards  the  social  modifications  approved  by 
Western  nations,  Russian  society  is  ever  ready  to  adopt 
the  most  modern  occidental  views  in  the  domain  of  the 
arts.  The  Slav  element  in  the  Russian,  stultifying  his 
loudest  and  most  chauvinistic  professions,  renders  him 
an  eclectic  in  spite  of  himself. 

It  would  be  natural  to  suppose,  when  remembering 
the  names  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff' s  most  successful 
pupils— mentioned  in  the  last  chapter — that  the  trans- 
figured master  would  gaze  down  from  Kitej  in  confi- 
dent and  beatific  expectation  of  seeing  his  national- 
istic message   spread  through   musical   Russia  by  an 


240  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

enthusiastic  band  of  apostles.  The  fact  is,  however, 
that  the  strongest  trace  of  his  influence  is  to  be  found 
in  the  sphere  of  orchestral  technique;  the  nationalistic 
ideal  is  no  longer  reverenced  as  once  it  was,  and  the 
search  for  a  perfect  operatic  style  has  been  abandoned 
for  the  reason  that  the  second  generation  has  had  very 
little  regard  for  opera  as  an  art-form,  and  the  third 
even  less. 

The  names  of  those  pupils  and  friends  whom  Rubin- 
sky-Korsakoff  probably  regarded  as  a  potential  apos- 
tolic progeny  are  Glazounoff,  Liadoff,  Liapounoff  and 
Arensky.  Of  these  it  must  be  said  that  though  each 
has  contributed  in  a  varying  degree  to  the  furtherance 
of  the  nationalistic  programme,  each  has  in  his  own 
way  succumbed  to  cosmopolitan  influences.  Glazounoff, 
in  early  life  a  disciple  of  Balakireff,  has  gradually 
modified  his  style  until,  at  the  present  moment,  he  can 
hardly  be  said  to  fulfil  the  function,  not  long  since 
credited  to  him,  of  successfully  uniting  the  principles 
of  Nationalism  with  those  of  Western  tradition.  Lia- 
doff and  Liapounoff  come  within  one  category,  in  that 
both  were  employed  by  the  Commission  appointed  in 
1893  by  the  Imperial  Geographical  Society  to  make 
researches  in  folk-song,  and  the  fruit  of  their  labours 
was  subsequently  published.  They  may  also  be 
grouped  together  by  virtue  of  their  predilection  for 
the  piano.  Liapounoff's  pianistic  compositions  are  per- 
haps to  be  regarded  as  carrying  on  the  tradition  of 
Balakireff,  and  as  having,  here  and  there,  something 
peculiarly  Russian  in  their  flavour;  but  Liadoff,  al- 
though removed  (unlike  Liapounoff,  who  studied  in 
Moscow)  from  the  influence  of  the  Westernising  group, 
shows  a   strong  inclination  to  roam   abroad,   now   to 


"THE   LITTLE   GLINKA."  24 1 

Poland,  now  to  Germany,  in  search  of  the  traditional 
pianistic  style.  The  remaining  one  of  the  four  com- 
posers mentioned  was  outlived  by  his  master.  Arensky 
is  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  close  follower  of  Tchaikov- 
sky, whom  he  resembles  in  certain  qualities  and  de- 
fects. He  has  employed  folk-tunes,  but  in  a  fashion 
remote  from  the  teachings  of  the  Koittchkisti.  As  with 
most  music  in  the  composition  of  which  prettiness 
would  appear  to  have  been  the  principal  aim,  Arensky's 
output  is  rapidly  losing  the  favour  which  it  has  un- 
doubtedly enjoyed. 

Alexander  Constantinovich  Glazounoff  was  born  at 
St.  Petersburg  on  August  10,  1865.  His  father  was  a 
member  of  a  well-known  and  old-established  firm  of 
booksellers  and  publishers,  and  was  given,  as  its  repre- 
sentative, in  1882,  the  rank  of  nobility.  His  mother 
was  a  talented  pupil  of  Balakireff.  He  therefore  en- 
joyed, from  the  first,  the  advantage  of  a  sound  literary 
and  musical  environment.  His  first  musical  training 
was  re-ceived  at  the  hands  of  a  lady  pupil  of  Kontsky, 
Kholodkcff  by  name,  but  when  twelve  years  of  age  he 
was  placed  with  Elenkovsky,  who  supplemented  the 
piano  lessons  with  some  theoretical  instruction  and 
frequent  perusals  of  the  symphonic  and  chamber  clas- 
sics. Musically  precocious,  he  assimilated  the  rudi- 
ments with  extreme  rapidity.  It  seems  curious  that  the 
opportunity  of  listening  to  a  symphony  orchestra 
should  have  been  denied  the  youth  until  fourteen  years 
of  age,  but  not  at  all  strange  that  on  repeating  the  ex- 
perience he  should  have  begun  at  once  to  feel  the  desire 
to  compose  a  symphonic  work.  In  1880  he  was 
fortunate  enough  to  secure  the  advice  of  Balakireff, 
who  persuaded  him   that  his  principal   need   for  the 

17 


242  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSlAX   MUSIC. 

moment  was  a  wide  general  knowledge  and  a  close 
study  of  the  musical  classics.  ?Ie  went  accordingly  to 
Rimsky-Korsakoff,  and,  making  phenomenal  progress, 
was  soon  able  to  give  convincing  proof  of  his  talent  for 
composition.  Two  years  after  his  meeting  with  the 
Nestor  of  the  Koutchka,  and  while  still  a  school-boy, 
he  was  honoured  by  the  performance  of  his  first  sym- 
phony at  a  Free  School  concert,  under  Balakireff's  con- 
ductorship.  This  work  was  later  to  secure  for  him  the 
strong  sympathy  of  Liszt. 

In  1883  he  left  school,  passed  into  the  University, 
and  joined  its  orchestra  with  the  object  of  familiar- 
ising himself  with  the  symphonic  manner.  Having 
now  established  his  claim  to  a  m.usical  individuality, 
he  determined  to  strengthen  his  position  and  his  self- 
confidence  by  setting  to  work  on  a  variety  of  composi- 
tions. In  rapid  succession  came  a  string  quartet  in  D 
which  incurred  some  rather  faint  praise  from  Tchai- 
kovsky, who  though  "  pleasantly  surprised,"  was  an- 
noyed by  the  "  imitations  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff,"  a 
pianoforte  suite  on  a  theme  based  on  S.A.S.C.H.A.,  the 
diminutive  of  his  own  name,  Alexander,  and  an  over- 
ture on  Greek  themes,  which  earned  for  him  the  regard 
of  Anton  Rubinstehi,  who  conducted  a  performance. 
This  work,  Op.  3,  and  a  subsequent  overture,  both  writ- 
ten between  1881  and  1885,  were  based  upon  themes 
appearing  in  the  well-known  collection  of  Greek  and 
Oriental  popular  melodies  published  in  1876  by 
L.  A.  Bourgault-Ducoudray.  About  this  time  Glaz- 
ounoff  was  fortunate  enough  to  attract  the  notice  of 
Eelaieff,  who  took  a  very  considerable  interest  in  the 
}-oung  composer  and  undertook  the  publication  of  his 
works.     This  circumstance,  tog^ether  with  the  favour- 


EARLY    INFLUENCES.  243 

able  opinion  of  Liszt,  who  conducted  tlie  first  sym- 
phony at  Weimar  in  1884,  resulted  in  an  early  popu- 
larisation of  Glazounoff's  output  in  Western  Europe. 
With  such  an  auspicious  beginning  it  is  not  strange 
that  his  career  should  have  been  free  from  the  set-backs 
and  disappointments  usually  associated  with  the  lives 
of  composers  of  true  merit.  Continuing  to  devote  him- 
self to  instrumental  music  he  found  himself  quickly 
recognised  at  the  great  European  musical  centres. 

In  1886  he  finished  his  second  symphony,  which  he 
dedicated  to  Liszt,  and  it  was  performed  in  the  same 
year.  In  this  work  the  influence  of  the  Hungarian 
master  may  easily  be  traced;  there  is,  for  instance,  the 
cyclic  employment  of  a  principal  theme  which  appears 
in  each  of  the  four  movements ;  that  the  composer  was 
at  this  time  in  sympathy  with  nationalistic  ideals  is 
shown  both  by  its  modal  treatment  and  its  Oriental 
harmonisation.  A  commemorative  march  prepared  in 
anticipation  of  his  parents'  silver  w-edding  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  belongs  also  to  1888. 

In  1889  he  conducted  some  of  his  cw^n  works  at  a 
concert  devoted  to  Russian  composers  at  the  Paris  Ex- 
hibition and  received,  together  with  an  expression  of 
goodwill  from  Tchaikovsky,  a  notification  that  the 
Moscow  master  had  recommended  a  new  symphonic 
work  for  performance  in  Berlin.  This  was  the  "  poem," 
"  Stenka  Razin,"  Op.  13,  based  on  a  story  of  the  Cos- 
sack raider  of  that  name,  whose  revolt  against  the  Czar 
Alexis  (son  of  the  first  Romanoff)  ended  in  his  capture 
and  execution  in  1672,  the  date  of  Peter  the  Great's 
birth.  Stenka  Razin  is  the  hero  of  many  national 
ballads.  The  substance  of  Glazounoff's  "plot"  relates 
to  his  last  exploit,  and  after  recounting  the  ill-omened 


244  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

dream  of  the  captive  Persian  Princess  (his  mistress) 
who  foretells  his  capture  by  the  Czar's  troops — a  pro- 
phecy immediately  fulfilled — proceeds  to  tell  us  how 
Stenka  suddenly  remembers  his  indebtedness  to  the 
Volga — the  scene  of  many  a  victory — and  offers  the 
person  of  his  beautiful  princess,  his  most  precious  pos- 
session, as  a  sacrifice  to  the  river.  This  work  which  is 
built  upon  three  themes  associated  respectively  with 
the  pirate,  the  princess  and  the  sailors  (the  latter  figures 
as  a  hauliers'  song  in  Balakireff's  collection)  may  be 
regarded  as  typical  of  Glazounoff's  first  period,  in 
which  he  was  attracted  by  picturesque  and  imaginative 
subjects,  and  hardly  at  all  foreshadowing  his  later 
style,  his  sympathy  with  classical  methods  of  composi- 
tion, and  his  admiration  of  Brahms. 

Several  other  works  of  a  programmatic  nature  came, 
however,  from  his  pen  before  this  emancipation  was 
complete,  among  them  the  orchestral  fantasias,  "  The 
Forest "  and  "  The  Sea,"  the  symphonic  sketch,  "  A 
Slavonic  Festival,"  an  "  Oriental  Rhapsody  "  in  three 
parts  and  a  symphonic  tableau^  "  The  Kremlin."  But 
it  was  in  a  much  later  work  that  Glazounoff  reached 
the  zenith  of  his  power  of  expressing  emotions  derived 
from  the  contemplation  of  the  deeds  of  epic  heroes.  In 
his  "  Raymonda  "  ballet  the  composer  shows  an  inclina- 
tion to  realise  the  picturesque  aspect  of  mediaeval  times 
which,  later,  was  given  full  play  in  his  suite,  "  The 
Middle  Ages."  Its  "programme"  is  as  follows.  Dur- 
ing the  absence  of  the  Crusader  Jean  de  Brienne,  Ray- 
mond's betrothed,  she  is  importuned  by  the  Saracen 
Abdourahman.  Undismayed  by  her  indifference  to  his 
proposal,  his  wealth  and  the  magnificence  of  his  retinue, 
he  plans  her   abduction.      In  this  he  is  thwarted  by 


FOREIGN   RECOGNITION.  245 

the  return  of  de  Brienne,  who  challenges  him  to  a  duel, 
slays  him  and  marries  Raymonda. 

In  such  works  as  this  Glazounoff  may  be  considered 
to  figure  as  a  notable  successor  to  his  precursors  Boro- 
din and  Rimsky-Korsakcff.  It  will  be  observed  that, 
while  satisfying  the  demands  of  those  who  exact  a  pro- 
cedure pertaining  to  the  nationalistic  school  in  a  Rus- 
sian composer's  work,  he  has  succeeded  in  appeal- 
ing to  occidental  tastes  with  a  class  of  composition  that 
neither  violates  the  formalistic  traditions  of  classic 
music  nor  necessitates,  for  its  proper  appreciation,  an 
acquaintance  with  the  Slavonic  and  oriental  idea  and 
idiom. 

Thus,  since  his  first  foreign  appearance  in  Paris,  he 
has  found  a  ready  acceptance  in  European  countries. 
His  fourth  symphony  (again  in  cyclic  form)  was  pro- 
duced by  the  London  Philharmonic  Society  in  1897 
and  his  fifth  by  Sir  Henry  (then  Mr.)  Wood  in  the  same 
year.  For  the  Chicago  Exhibition  of  1895  he  com- 
posed a  triumphal  march  with  chorus.  In  1903  his 
seventh  symphony  was  performed  at  the  Royal  College 
of  Music  and  three  years  later  he  received  an  honorary 
degree  from  Cambridge  University.  He  has  conducted 
concerts  of  Russian  music  in  Hamburg,  Ostend  and 
Paris. 

Glazounoff's  development  into  a  devotee  of  "pure" 
music  has  been  gradual.  Since  the  time  when  in  "  The 
Forest"  he  seemed  inclined  towards  a  style  which  led 
to  his  being  hailed  as  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  com- 
poser of  "  Russian  and  Ludmilla,"  he  has  little  by  little 
drawn  himself  away  from  the  practice  of  dedicating 
his  music  to  the  expression  of  graphic  and  sug- 
gestive ideas.     From  Rimsky-Korsakoff  he  derived  a 


240  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

magnificent  technique  which  he  now  employs  for  a  pur- 
pose ahiiost  wholly  foreign  to  his  teacher's  conception 
of  the  proper  sphere  of  music.  While  Rimsky-Korsa- 
koff  sought  to  enlarge  his  technique  in  order  the  better 
to  express  his  adoration  of  nature,  and  further  to 
heighten  his  power  of  using  the  colours  on  his  descrip- 
tive palette,  Glazounoff  has  exploited  his  musical  tech- 
nique to  an  entirely  different  end.  The  beauty  of  his 
music  is  to  be  sought  in  his  themes,  which  are  not  neces- 
sarily related  to  a  poetic  idea  (and  which,  it  must  be 
said,  have  lately  shown  too  strong  a  resemblance  one 
to  the  other)  and  the  artistic  worth  of  their  metamor- 
phosis. 

Since  the  period  of  the  fifth  symphony  (1895),  the 
sixth  (1896)  and  "  Raymonda "  (finished  1897)  he 
seems,  while  retaining  a  taste  for  "  programme "  and 
romanticism,  to  have  renounced  the  deliberately  depic- 
tive manner,  and  even  the  "Middle  Ages"  suite  (1902), 
does  no  more  than  give  a  general  and  not  at  all  a  par- 
ticular interpretation  of  the  subject.  The  violin  con- 
certo (1904),  though  it  eschews  formalistic  severity,  is 
classical  as  to  thematic  material,  development  and  har- 
monisation.  In  more  recent  works  such  as  the  sym- 
phonic prologue,  "In  IMemory  of  Gogol"  1909)  which 
opens  with  a  capricious  theme  exceedingly  suggestive 
of  Straussian  influence,  the  Finnish  fantasia  produced 
at  Helsingfors  in  November,  1910,  the  "  Kalevala 
Legend,"  Op.  89,  and  the  fiece  cVoccasion  composed 
for  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  Russian  sym- 
phony concerts  (November  23,  1909),  we  find  a  patri- 
otic purpose  carried  out  in  a  manner  which,  beyond  the 
occasional  employment  of  an  indigenous  theme — when 


GLAZOUNOFF   BECOMES    OCCIDENTALI*ST.  24; 

almost  imperative — is  quite  remote  from  the  primary 
traditions  of  the  St.  Petersburg  school. 

The  history  of  Glazounoff's  defection  from  the 
nationalists  might  without  much  difficulty  be  traced  by 
recalling  his  dedications.  Inscribed  on  his  first  sym- 
phony, Op.  5,  the  second  o\'erture  on  Greek  themes, 
Op.  6,  "  Stenka  Razin,"  Op.  13,  and  the  orchestral 
"  Idylle  and  Reverie  orientale "  are  found  the  names 
of  Rimsky-Korsakoff,  Balakireff,  Borodin  and  Cui  re- 
spectively. Before  rendering  a  like  homage  to  the 
ultra-progressive  Moussorgsky,  in  "  The  Kremlin,"  Op. 
30,  he  dedicated  the  second  symphony,  Op.  16,  to  Liszt 
and  "  The  Sea,"  Op.  28,  to  Wagner,  paying  a  tribute  at 
about  the  same  time,  in  his  Oriental  Rhapsodic,  Op. 
29,  to  Repin,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  some  fine 
portraits  of  Glinka,  the  Koutchkisti,  and  an  early  one 
of  Glazounoff  himself.  The  third  symphony,  Op.  33, 
is  not  only  dedicated  to  but  is  certainly  influenced  by 
Tchaikovsky,  the  "  Carnival "  overture,  Op.  45,  bears 
the  name  of  Larcche,  a  critic  who,  though  living  in  St. 
Petersburg,  had  very  little  sympathy  with  the  nation- 
ist  group  and  was  an  ardent  advocate  of  Tchaikovsky 
and  conservative  principles,  the  fourth  symphony.  Op. 
48,  celebrates  Anton  Rubinstein,  and  the  fifth,  Op.  55, 
S.  I.  Taneieff,  Tchaikovsky's  close  friend.  The  belated 
tribute  to  Stassoff — the  "  Cortege  Solennel,"  Op.  50 — 
was  composed  in  honour  of  the  publication  of  the 
"jubilee"   edition   of   the   critic's   collected   works   (in 

1894). 

A  more  direct  method  of  noting  the  change  is  that 
of  reference  to  Glazounoff's  songs.  A  perusal  of  the 
two  sets  of  six,  Op.  59  and  60,  for  instance,  will  not 
bring  to  light  anything  even  approaching  the  style  of 


248  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

the  "Oriental  Romance"  (to  Pushkin's  text),  one  of 
the  two  "  Melodies,"  Op.  27.  Such  favourite  vocal 
compositions  as  "  Desire,"  "  The  Nereid  "  and  "  Delia," 
while  constituting  a  shining  example  of  the  art  of  song- 
WTiting,  do  not  "burn  with  the  ardent  flame"  of  the 
first-quoted  work. 

Glazounoff's  preoccupation  with  the  orchestra  as  a 
medium  has  not  prevented  him  from  making  a  valu- 
able contribution  to  chamber-music.  Besides  his  five 
numbered  quartets  he  has  published  a  suite  of  five 
"Novelettes" — a  delightful  example  of  an  eclecticism 
which  has  begun,  musically  speaking,  more  or  less  near 
home — a  suite  of  four  movements,  the  last  consisting 
of  a  theme  with  variations,  the  Slav  quartet,  from  the 
final  movement  of  which  the  orchestral  "  Slavonic  Fes- 
tival "  (likewise  Op.  26)  is  derived,  and  two  pieces,  Pre- 
lude and  Fugue  and  Courante.  There  are  also  his 
essays  in  collaborative  composition :  the  Christmas 
Carol  in  the  Belaieff  birthday  quartet  (with  Liadoff 
and  Rimsky-Korsakoff),  a  Prelude  and  Fugue  and  a 
section  of  the  polka  in  "  Les  Vendredis "  and  the 
bracing  "  Finale "  of  the  quartet  on  Belaieff's  name,  in 
which  he  joins  Rimsky-Korsakoff,  Liadoff  and  Borodin 
in  celebrating  the  Russian  musical  Maecenas.  He  has 
also  published  a  String  Quintet,  Op.  39. 

Some  of  his  choral  works  have  been  mentioned.  The 
joint  cantata  (with  Liadoff)  for  tenor  solo,  chorus  and 
orchestra,  in  memory  of  Antokolsky,  the  celebrated 
sculptor,  one  of  Glazounoff's  latest  works,  must  not  pass 
unnoticed,  nor  must  our  subject's  labours  in  the  scoring 
of  much  of  Borodin's  "  Prince  Igor  "  and  in  the  editing 
of  Glinka's  works. 

Glazounoff,  as  related  in  the  foregoing  chapter,  was 


ADMINISTRATIVE   POSTS.  '  249 

elected  director  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Conservatoire  im- 
mediately after  the  disturbance  aroused  in  1905  by 
Rimsky-Korsakoff's  protest.  He  still  holds  this  posi- 
tion and  is  also  one  of  the  controllers  of  the  Eelaieff 
music  publishing  concern. 


11. 

LIADOFF   AND   LIAPOUNOFF. 

OF  some  of  Anatol  Constantinovich  Liadoff's  ac- 
tivities we  have  already  learned.  As  an  ally  of 
the  Koutchka  he  was  responsible  for  various  numbers  to 
be  found  in  their  joint  works  :  in  the  "  Paraphrases  " 
— originating  with  the  "chopsticks"  duet  (suggested  by 
Borodin's  protegee) — there  are  a  goodly  number  of 
variations  to  which  the  initials  "  A.  L. "  are  appended, 
and  his  name  figures  four  times  as  composer  in  the 
succeeding  series  of  little  pieces;  to  the  "Belaieff" 
quartet  he  contributed  a  scherzo,  to  the  "  Birthday " 
pieces  the  "Glorification";  he  wrote  a  canon  for  the 
"Variations  on  a  Popular  Russian  Air"  in  collabora- 
tion with  nine  others,  and  in  the  "  Vendredis  "  his  trio 
(in  the  polka  to  which  it  belongs  the  first  and  second 
sections  are  by  Sokoloff  and  Glazcunoff)  his  mazurka 
and  his  fugue  are  by  no  means  the  least  charming  num- 
bers in  this  fascinating  collection.  It  should  also  be 
mentioned  that  he  assisted  in  the  orchestration  of  the 
music  for  the  ballet  based  on  Schumann's  "  Carnival  " 
and  of  that  of  Chopin  used  for  "  Les  Sylphides." 

250 


LIADOFF.  251 

Liadoff  was  born  at  St.  Petersburg  on  April  29,  1855. 
His  grandfather  had  been  a  musician  by  calling  and 
his  father,  conductor  at  the  St.  Petersburg  Imperial 
Opera,  was  that  Constantine  Liadoff  who  in  the  early 
sixties  came  to  Moussorgsky's  assistance,  and  gave  a 
public  performance  of  the  ill-fated  composer's 
"Qidipus."  The  uncle  was  also  employed  at  the  Opera 
in  the  capacity  of  ballet-conductor.  Anatol  was  thus 
from  the  first  destined  for  a  musical  career.  After  re- 
ceiving some  instruction  from  his  father,  he  entered  the 
violin  class  at  the  Conservatoire,  and,  showing  apti- 
tude for  composition,  was  soon  chosen  to  receive  Rim- 
sky-Korsakoff's  instruction  in  orchestration  and  form, 
studying,  the  while,  harmony,  counterpoint  and  fugue 
with  Johansen.  In  1877,  having  finished  these  courses, 
he  wrote,  as  an  exercise,  a  cantata  which  was  so  highly 
esteemed  that  in  the  ensuing  year,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three,  he  was  appointed  to  an  assistantship  in  the  Con- 
servatoire, where  he  is  now  professor  of  harmony  and 
composition.  Since  1894  he  has  been  associated  first 
with  Rimsky-Korsakoff,  and  more  recently  with 
Glazounoff,  as  assistant-conductor  of  the  Musical 
Society.  For  a  time  he  held  also  the  professorship  of 
theory  and  of  subjects  constituting  the  general  pre- 
paration for  the  career  of  choirmaster  in  the  Imperial 
Chapel. 

His  most  important  subscription  to,  or  espousal  of 
the  cause  of  Russian  music — apart  from  his  pedagogic 
labours — is  undoubtedly  those  collections  of  national 
songs  which  form  his  Op.  14,  18  and  22  (for  children). 
Op.  45  for  female  voice,  and  the  three  volumes.  Op. 
48,  comprising  one  hundred  and  twenty  popular  airs 
which  were  collected  when  in  the  employ  of  the  Geo- 


252  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

graphical  Society.  As  a  writer  for  the  orchestra  he 
seems  to  have  developed  his  taste  somewhat  late  in  life. 
His  polonaise  in  memory  of  Pushkin,  although  num- 
bered Op.  49,  comes  quite  early  in  the  list  of  his  sym- 
phonic works.  He  has  since  published  (in  1903)  an  ex- 
ceedingly clever  Scherzo,  Op.  56,  entitled  "  Baba  Yaga," 
in  which  he  gives  a  vivid  musical  presentation  of  one 
of  the  many  stories  of  this  traditionally  fearsome  old 
witch,  a  series  of  eight  orchestral  versions  of  Russian 
popular  songs  (dedicated  to  that  highly  imaginative 
and  talented  illustrator  of  folk-stories,  I.  A.  Bilibin), 
a  very  charming  and  poetic  "  legend  "  entitled  "  The 
Enchanted  Lake,"  Op.  62,  a  polonaise  for  the  unveiling 
of  a  statue  to  A.  Rubinstein,  and  an  Amazon's  Dance, 
Op.  65.  There  is  also  a  suite,  "  After  Maeter- 
linck," which  does  not  appear  to  have  been  published. 
Among  his  choral  works  is  the  "Last  Scene  from 
Schiller's  *  Bride  of  Messina,'  "  Op.  28,  for  mixed  voices 
and  orchestra. 

In  his  numerous  piano  pieces,  while  preserving  a  high 
level  of  taste,  he  has  contrived  to  introduce  a  pleasing 
diversity  of  styles.  The  "  Arabesques,"  Op.  4,  and  the 
fourteen  "  Birioulki,"  Op.  2  (the  title  denoting  a  Rus- 
sian version  of  the  parlour  game  known  as  "  Spilli- 
kins")  are  valued  items  in  the  repertory  of  many 
pianists.  Although  very  much  addicted  to  the  "  Cho- 
pinesque  "  prelude,  etude  and  mazurka,  he  has  written 
a  certain  number  of  genre  pieces,  such  as  the  sketch, 
"  In  the  Steppe,"  Op.  23,  and  a  more  recent  collection 
or  suite  of  four  pieces,  "Grimace,"  "Gloom,"  "Tempta- 
tion "  and  "  Reminiscence." 

Serge  Mikhailovich  Liapounoff  is  to  be  regarded  as 
a  musical  grandson  of  Glinka  and — to  maintain  the 


LIAPOUNOFF.  253 

metaphor — as  the  heir  of  Balakireff,  with  whom  for 
many  years  he  was  on  terms  of  the  closest  intimacy. 
From  the  founder  of  Russian  opera  he  inherited  his 
affinity  for  lyricism,  whilst  his  association  with  the 
leader  of  the  Koutchka — begun  on  his  graduation  from 
Moscow  Conservatoire — strengthened  a  natural  affec- 
tion for  national  colour  in  music,  which  probably 
sprang  from  the  circumstance  that,  like  Korsakoff  and 
iMoussorgsky,  he  had  spent  his  youthful  years  in  the 
country.  Born  on  November  18,  1859,  at  Yaroslav,  he 
was  not  a  musically  precocious  child,  and  did  not 
achieve  any  great  distinctions  either  while  at  the  then 
newly-opened  Imperial  School  of  Music  at  Nijni-Nov- 
gorod,  which  he  entered  in  his  fifteenth  year,  or  at  Mos- 
cow Conservatoire,  where  he  studied  the  piano  and  com- 
position. Leaving  in  1883  and  occupying  himself  for 
two  years  in  teaching  and  composing,  he  migrated  to 
St.  Petersburg,  met  Balakireff,  and  in  the  same  year  was 
honoured  by  a  performance,  under  the  latter's  direction, 
of  his  "Concert  Overture,"  later  published  as  a  "bal- 
lad." One  of  his  earliest  compositions  was  a  "  Solemn 
Overture  "  on  Russian  theme.  Op.  7,  a  work  which  voiced 
his  enthusiasm  for  folk-song,  a  predilection  shortly 
after  gratified  by  his  appointment  as  director  of  the 
commission  under  which  Liadoff  served.  Liapounoff 
himself  visited  the  governments  of  Vologda,  Viatka 
and  Kostroma  and,  as  an  outcome  of  this  journey,  he 
was  able  to  produce  no  less  than  two  hundred  and 
sixty-five  songs,  duly  published  in  1899.  During  this 
undertaking  he  was  appointed  assistant  in  the  Imperial 
Chapel.  His  orchestral  compositions  are  few;  they  in- 
clude a  symphony.  Op.  12,  and  a  symphonic  poem.  Op. 
37.     But  he  has  rendered  signal  service  to  such  pianists 


:254  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

as  are  capable  of  undertaking  performance  of  his  bril- 
liant but  usually  very  difficult  works  for  that  instru- 
ment. The  Concerto  in  E  flat  minor,  written  in  1890, 
dedicated  to  Balakireff  and  conducted  by  him  at  a  Free 
School  concert  in  the  following  year,  makes  a  severe 
demand  upon  mechanical  dexterity,  while  the  "  Etudes 
d'execution  transcendente,"  Op.  11,  of  which  there  are 
twelve,  are,  in  the  same  sense  as  the  caprices  of  Paga- 
nini,  "  for  artists  alone."  That  they  are  dedicated  to 
Liszt  in  whose  memory  No.  12,  an  elegie,  was  specially 
written,  and  that  the  "Lesghinka,"  No.  10,  smacks 
strongly  of  Balakireff  in  his  more  heroic  moments,  is  a 
fairly  clear  indication  as  to  the  origins  of  their  com- 
poser. Liapounoff  owes  as  much  to  the  reflning  influ- 
ences of  the  latter  as  he  does  to  the  former's  lead  in 
extending  the  boundaries  of  piano  technique.  He  has 
written  a  number  of  much  lighter  pieces  for  the  instru- 
ment, among  which  may  be  cited  the  "  Divertissements," 
Op.  35.  Since  the  "Solemn  Overture"  he  has  made 
a  further  addition  to  the  list  of  art  works  inspired  by 
folk-song  in  the  rhapsody  on  Ukranian  airs  for  piano 
and  orchestra.  The  titles  of  some  of  his  twelve  songs, 
as  well  as  their  treatment,  are  again  indicative  of  his 
artistic  tendency ;  of  them  we  may  cite  the  "  Oriental 
Romance,"  "  On  the  Steppe  "  and  "  On  the  Banks  of  the 
Ganges."  The  composer  has  acknowledged  his  in- 
debtedness to  Balakireff  by  arranging  and  editing  many 
of  his  works. 


III. 

ARENSKY. 

WE  have  lately  reached  a  new  epoch  in  musical 
criticism.  Following  the  precedent  set  up  by 
King  Saul,  critics,  until  a  year  or  two  ago,  have  never 
scrupled  to  pronounce  a  final  condemnation  of  music 
which,  by  reason  of  its  incomprehensibility,  was  not 
congenial  to  them.  Nowadays,  however,  it  is  to  be  ob- 
served that  the  critic  no  longer  refuses  to  profit  by  the 
appalling  errors  with  which  the  history  of  music  is 
punctuated,  and  that  critical  opinion,  confronted  with 
the  music  of  the  future,  proceeds  to  the  extremity  of 
caution  and  sits  upon  the  fence  that  formerly  served 
as  a  missile  to  be  hurled  at  the  offending  innovator. 
But  the  medal  has  another  side.  One  reads  surpris- 
ingly little  of  the  open-armed  but  mistaken  enthusiasm 
with  which  certain  composers  of  inferior  music  have 
been  welcomed.  An  occasional  reference  to  Buonon- 
cinists  and  Piccinists  is  the  only  reminder  ever  given 
that  much  of  the  music  that  in  the  past  has  glittered  so 
brightly  has  since  proved  to  be  of  much  baser  metal 
than  the  gold  it  seemed  to  be. 


256  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Among  the  composers  who  have  been  inflicted  with  a 
posthumous  neglect,  the  more  conspicuous  owing  to  the 
unstinted  praise  lavished  upon  them  during  their  life- 
time, is  Arensky.     Hailed  in  this  country,  in  1897,  as  a 
composer  of  real  strength  and  feeling,  and  as  a  "  repre- 
sentative of  the  modern  Russian   school"  he  has  en- 
joyed a  fleeting  popularity  which  may  be  traced  to  cer- 
tain superficially  pleasing  elements  in  such  works  as 
his  piano  trio,  his  quartets,  the  third  orchestral   suite 
(originally  conceived  as  a  piano  duet.  Op.  23)  and  the 
Variations,  Op.  54,  together  with  copious  piano  pieces 
possessing  a  more  or  less  ephemeral  charm,  and  such 
songs  as  the  ball-room  reminiscence.  Op.  49,  which  has 
enjoyed   a   vogue   due   presumably   to   its   being   suffi- 
ciently banal  to  please  popular  taste   and  charming 
enough  to  seduce  critical  opinion.     His  three  operas  are 
unknown  in  this  country. 

Anton  Stepanovich  Arensky  was  bcrn  at  Nijni-Nov- 
gorod  on  July  31,  186 1.     As  his  father,  a  medical  man, 
was  a  proficient  'cellist  and  his  mother   an  excellent 
pianist,   his   talent    for   music   was   anticipated   in   the 
family  circle,  and  at  its  earliest  appearance  was  fos- 
tered by  his  parents.     As  quite  a  youngster  he  attended 
Rousseau's   music   school   at   St.   Petersburg,   where  he 
studied  under  Zikke.     At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  conservatoire  and  there  found  himself  a 
pupil  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff  and  Johansen,  gaining,  in 
1882,  the  institution's  gold  medal  for  composition.    His 
First  Symphony,  Op.  4,  and  his  Piano  Concerto,  Op.  2, 
won  an  immediate  hearing  and  success  at  St.  Peters- 
burg and  Moscow  respectively,  and  before  the  year  was 
out  he  had  been  appointed  professor  of  harmony  and 
counterpoint  at  the  Moscow  Conservatoire.     While  thus 


ARENSKY'S   "MANIA"  FOR  FIVE-FOUR  RHYTHM.   25; 

employed  he  came  into  frequent  contact  with  Tchaikov- 
sky, who  showed  a  very  warm  regard  for  the  young 
composer,  often  proffering  his  critical  advice.  In  a  let- 
ter dated  1885,  the  composer  of  the  Pathetic  Symphony 
protests  against  what  he  characterises  as  a  mania  for 
five-four  rhythm  which  '*  threatens  to  become  a  habit 
with  you  "  and  states  as  his  opmion  that  the  "  otherwise 
beautiful"  basso  ostinato  from  the  six  pieces,  Op.  5, 
should  have  been  written  either  in  three-four  or  six- 
four.  In  1886  Tchaikovsky  pleaded  earnestly  with 
Rimsky-Korsakoff  on  behalf  of  his  former  pupil,  and 
went  the  length  of  suggesting  the  substitution  of  one 
of  Arensky's  works  in  place  of  his  own  "  Romeo"  over- 
ture in  the  programme  of  a  forthcoming  concert. 
Another  letter  written  in  the  year  following  contains  a 
rebuke  addressed  to  Arensky  for  his  unfortunate  choice 
of  the  subject  of  "  Traviata  "  as  literary  basis  for  a 
symphonic  fantasia.  "How  can  an  educated  musi- 
cian," he  asks,  "  feel  any  interest  in  the  production  of 
Dumas  fih  when  there  are  Homer,  Shakespeare,  Gogol, 
Pushkin,  Dante,  Tolstoy,  Lermontoff  and  others  .  .  .  ." 
Further,  when  criticising  the  music  in  detail,  he  objects 
to  the  superficiality  of  its  charm. 

Tchaikovsky  had  no  reason  for  complaint  against 
Arensky's  selection  of  "The  Dream  on  the  Volga"  as 
the  subject  of  his  first  opera,  finished  in  1890,  seeing 
that  it  differed  only  in  name  from  Ostrovsky's  "Voyc- 
voda  "  which  he  had  himself  cast  in  operatic  form  over 
twenty  years  previously,  but  which,  possibly  owing  to 
Ostrovsky's  own  mutilations  of  his  original  five-act 
comedy,  inspired  the  composer  so  little  that  he  ultim- 
ately destroyed  the  score.  "  A  Dream  on  the  Volga  " 
was  success fullv  produced  at  Moscow  in  the  year  of  its 

18 


258  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

completion.  Very  little  evidence  of  a  sympathy  with 
nationalistic  aims  is  forthcoming  in  Arensky's  music  as 
a  whole,  but  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  this  opera  he 
employed  native  folk-melody,  and  not  without  success. 
His  fantasia  on  Russian  epic  chants,  Op.  48  (culled 
from  Riabinin,  the  rhapsodist),  for  two  pianos  may  here 
appropriately  be  mentioned. 

From  1889  until  1893,  Arensky  held  a  position  on 
the  Synodal  Council  of  Church  Music  at  Moscow.  Dur- 
ing this  period  he  refused  the  post  of  director  of  the 
Tiflis  branch  of  the  Russian  Musical  Society.  From 
1894  until  1 90 1  he  was  conductor  of  the  Moscow 
Choral  Society,  holding  also  for  a  time  the  directorship 
of  the  St.  Petersburg  Imperial  Chapel,  for  which  he  was 
recommended  by  Balakireff. 

His  second  opera,  "  Raphael  "  (m  one  act)  was  pro- 
duced at  the  St.  Petersburg  Congress  of  Russian  Artists 
in  1894.  "The  Fountain  of  Baktchissarai "  (on  Push- 
kin's poem).  Op.  46,  for  solo  voices,  chorus  and  orches- 
tra, is  one  of  his  best  known  works.  Succeeding  the 
production  of  his  ballet,  "A  Night  in  Egypt,"  came,  in 
1899,  the  second  one-act  opera  entitled  "  Nal  and 
Damayanti,"  on  a  subject  taken  from  one  of  the  East 
Indian  epics,  introducing  the  matrimonial  vicissitudes 
of  King  Nal,  a  gambler,  who,  but  for  his  luck  in  play- 
ing Andrccles  to  an  unfortunate  and  subsequently 
grateful  serpent,  would  have  lost  his  wife  in  addition 
to  the  kingdom  already  diced  away.  This  story  has 
since  been  used  by  Bruch  in  a  choral  work.  Arensky's 
operatic  methods  are  described  as  a  compromise  be- 
tween declamation  and  the  melodic. 

One  of  his  last  works  of  importance  was  the  Piano 
Quintet,  Op.   51,  which  suggests  Brahmsian  influence. 


POPULAR   COMPOSITIONS.  259 

This,  together  with  the  second  Quartet  in  A  minor  and 
the  trio,  has  enjoyed  no  slight  popularity  in  this  coun- 
try. Notable  among  his  compositions  are  five  works 
for  two  pianos;  the  first  was  afterwards  scored  for  or- 
chestra and  introduced  in  this  shape  at  Queen's  Hall  in 
i8g6,  and  the  third,  the  "Fantasia  on  Epic  Chants," 
already  mentioned,  arranged  for  one  solo  instrument 
with  orchestral  accompaniment.  Arensky's  music  as  a 
whole  shows  the  influence  of  Tchaikovsky  and  Schu- 
mann. Sometimes  it  seems  to  hint  at  an  intellectuality 
which  certainly  cannot  be  said  to  obtrude  itself;  at 
others  one  is  led  to  believe  that  with  a  greater  capacity 
for  refining  and  polishing  he  might  have  been  success- 
ful in  concealing  his  apparant  want  of  discrimination 
in  his  selection  of  material. 

Arensky  died,  when  in  the  prime  of  life,  at  Terioki 
in  Finland. 


IV. 

TCHAIKOVSKY,    RUBINSTEIN   AND    THE   ECLECTICS. 

READERS  of  this  volume  who  find  themselves 
without  data  as  to  the  life  and  work  of  the  first- 
named  composer  will  admit,  on  referring  to  the  biblio- 
graphy of  the  subject,  compiled  by  the  author  of 
the  article  in  Grove's  "  Dictionary,"  that  they 
have  little  ground  for  complaint  against  the  present 
writer's  determination  to  abstain  from  needlessly  add- 
ing to  the  existing  number  of  biographical  records.  In 
this  list  is  to  be  found  sufficient  material  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes. 

But  whereas  recent  writings  and  a  deal  of  recent  criti- 
cism have  revealed  a  disinclination  to  accept  Tchai- 
kovsky either  as  the  typical  Russian  or  as  the  immortal 
master-musician  we  in  England  at  first  supposed  him 
to  be,  we  may  well  devote  some  space  to  an  inquiry  as 
to  the  nature  of  his  music  and  also  as  to  its  quality. 

Since  1898,  when  Paris  critics,  having  perused  Cesar 
Cui's  study  of  Russian  music,  began  to  feel  some  mis- 
givings in  respect  of  the  genuineness  of  that  quality, 
hitherto  characterised  as  Slavonic,  by  which  Tchaikov- 

260 


TCHAIKOVSKY'S    STYLE.  261 

sky's  music  was  permeated,  there  has  been  an  ever- 
strengthening  conviction  that  this  composer's  output  is 
not  properly  to  be  regarded  as  truly  Russian  in  spirit. 
To-day  we  observe  that  Germany  and  France  have  de- 
cided to  consider  Tchaikovsky's  style  as  hardly  at  all 
representative  of  the  modern  Russian  school  and  that, 
into  the  bargain,  the  musical  public  in  those  countries  is 
so  completely  tired  of  his  music  that  it  is  now  very  little 
heard. 

In  England  the  effects  of  an  intoxication  almost 
without  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  music  are  taking  a 
longer  time  to  evaporate,  and,  by  those  who  have  never 
been  aware  that  there  was  any  question  of  his  not  being 
a  truly  typical  Russian  composer,  it  is  still  believed 
that  what  is  typically  Tchaikovskian  is  fundamentally 
representative  of  his  Slavonian  nationality.  As  to 
those  who  are  still  able  to  pronounce  him  a  genius  of 
the  very  first  water,  one  may  point  out  that  there  is 
abundant  evidence  of  a  remarkable  secession  from  their 
ranks. 

Regarding  Anton  Rubinstein,  also  once  called  typi- 
cally Russian  and  reckoned  among  the  great  com- 
posers, there  seems  little  need  to  dwell  upon  the  circum- 
stance that  both  notions  have  long  since  been  exploded. 
His  fame  now  rests  upon  the  more  frail  foundation 
of  executive  skill,  which  bears  the  same  relation  to  the 
creative  capacity — so  far  as  concerns  immortality — as 
do  the  soon  forgotten  triumphs  of  the  historian  to 
the  printed  and  indelible  record  of  the  playwright's 
merit. 

The  controversy  that  has  raged  around  the  work  of 
Tchaikovsky  is  by  no  means  of  recent  origin.  So  far, 
however,  there  seems  to  be  so  much  difficulty  in  deter- 


262  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

mining  not  only  the  precise  nature  of  Nationalism  in 
music  but  its  value  either  to  the  country  of  its  origin,  or 
to  the  whole  cosmopolitan  art-world,  that  we  may  be 
excused  for  narrating  here  the  circumstances  which  were 
responsible  for  the  division  of  Russian  musical  society 
into  two  opposing  factions. 

The  St.  Petersburg  Conservatoire  was  founded  by 
Anton  Rubinstein  in  1861  and  he  remained  its  princi- 
pal for  hve  years.  In  the  following  year  Balakireff 
organised  his  Free  School  of  Music,  now  defunct.  The 
Conservatoire,  at  first  conservative  (in  the  political 
sense  of  the  term)  became  gradually  but  surely  progres- 
sive, and  when  Rimsky-Korsakoff  was  appointed  to  a 
professorship — some  ten  )Tar5  after  its  foundation — 
the  thin  edge  of  the  nationalistic  wedge  may  be  said  to 
have  been  introduced  into  the  professorial  attitude 
towards  the  musical  art. 

The  Conservatoire  in  AIoscow,  founded  by  Nicholas 
Rubinstein  in  1864,  did  not  undergo  the  same  emanci- 
pation. Its  ideal  was  entirely  opposed  to  that  of 
Nationalism  and  consisted  in  a  desire  to  build  up  a 
Russian  school  of  composition  by  means  of  employing 
Western  tradition  as  substance  and  relying  upon  a  vir- 
tually non-existent  native  manner  as  architecture. 

In  1865,  Seroff,  desirous  of  enjoying  the  triumphant 
success  of  his  opera,  "  Rogneda,"  produced  in  St. 
Petersburg,  declined  the  professorship  offered  him  at 
Moscow — a  city  associated  by  him  with  the  failure  of 
his  earlier  work,  ''Judith" — and  the  post  was  offered 
to  Tchaikovsky,  who  accepted  it  and  for  a  time  lived 
under  the  roof  of  its  principal. 

From  this  event  the  battle  between  Nationalism  and 
Eclecticism  or  Universalism,  between  the  Oriental  and 


ANTI-NATIONALIST   CRITICISM.  263 

Occidental  parties  in  Russian  musical  circles  may  be 
said  to  date.  Round  about  the  opposing  camps  clus- 
tered a  body  of  scribes  who  may  almost  be  credited 
with  having  kindled  the  flame,  but  who  at  any  rate 
fanned  it  with  unabating  vigour. 

In  St.  Petersburg  the  pens  of  Cui  and  Stassoff  were 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Nationalists.  Later  on  they  had 
to  reckon  with  Famintsin,  who,  after  two  years  in  Leip- 
zig, returned  to  the  capital  bringing  with  him  a  venera- 
tion for  tradition  such  as  only  a  course  of  study  in  the 
German  home  of  musical  orthodoxy  can  engender. 

Laroche,  one  of  the  first  to  appreciate  the  merit  of 
Tchaikovsky,  also  joined  the  anti-nationalist  force  on 
leaving  Moscow  for  St.  Petersburg,  and  his  criticisms 
of  the  Koutchkisti  are  by  no  means  the  least  virulent, 
although  Seroff  ran  him  pretty  close. 

In  the  Muscovite  capital  the  interests  of  the  Nation- 
alists were  looked  after  by  Krouglikoff,  who  so 
zealously  emulated  the  most  ardent  advocate  of  the 
"  Band  "  as  to  earn  the  style  and  title  of  "  The  Moscow 
Cui." 

jMoussorgsky's  scena,  "  The  Peepshow,"  gives  an  effec- 
tive bird's-eye  view  of  the  conflict.  As  may  be  remem- 
bered, it  gives  a  hint  of  the  law-suit  lost  by  Famintsin 
to  Stassoff.  Cui,  we  are  aware,  could  give  a  blow 
rather  better  than  take  one.  This  is  the  treatment 
meted  out  to  Anton  Rubinstein.  "  It  would  be  a  seri- 
ous error  to  consider  Rubinstein  as  a  Russian  composer ; 
he  is  merely  a  Russian  who  composes;  his  music  is 
allied  rather  with  that  of  Germany,  and  even  when 
he  utilises  Russian  themes  the  nature  and  spirit  of 
Nationalism  are  always  absent."  Rubinstein,  hailed 
the  world  over  as  a  typical  Russian,  was  naturally  by 


264  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

no  means  disposed  to  allow  such  pronouncements  to 
pass  unnoticed.  But  to  judge  by  his  opinion,  voiced 
some  time  after  the  fight  was  at  its  fiercest,  he  did  not 
lose  his  head  when  dealing  with  the  merits  and  defects 
of  his  adversaries.  "  Our  young  Russian  school,"  he 
wrote,  "is,  so  far  as  concerns  its  orchestral  music,  the 
outcome  of  the  influence  of  Berlioz  and  Liszt;  when 
considering  its  works  for  the  piano  one  must  add  to 
these  the  names  of  Schumann  and  Chopin.  Super- 
imposed one  observes  a  certain  deliberate  nationalistic 
manner.  Its  productions  reveal  a  complete  grasp  of 
technique  and  a  masterly  handling  of  colour,  but,  at 
the  same  time,  as  complete  an  absence  of  form  and  de- 
sign. Glinka,  who  wrote  a  few  pieces  for  orchestra 
based  on  national  songs  and  dances,  still  serves  as 
model  to  these  young  Russian  composers,  who  continue 
to  confine  themselves  largely  to  popular  and  national 
themes,  exposing  thereby  their  poverty  of  invention,  a 
lack  which  they  attempt  to  conceal  under  the  cloak  of 
'nationalism'  or  by  using  the  description  of  'new 
school.' "  Continuing,  he  admits  the  possibility  of 
some  future  re-birth  of  music — a  national  style  begotten 
by  parent  national  themes — and  pays  a  tribute  to  the 
undeniable  talent  of  certain  members  of  the  new  Rus- 
sian school. 

From  even  so  slight  an  account  as  the  above  record 
of  main  and  contributory  events,  it  may  easily  be 
gathered  that,  but  for  the  ferocious  wielding  of  the 
"  mightier  "  weapon,  there  would  have  been  nothing  ap- 
proaching the  bitterness  that  has  prevailed  in  the  con- 
duct of  this  controversy.  It  seems  safe,  for  instance, 
to  assume  that  Tchaikovsky  was  led  into  the  harsh 
criticisms  he  levelled  at  the  heads  of  the  nationalistic 


TCHAIKOVSKY   AND   NATIONALISM.  265 

circle — with  whom,  generally  speaking,  he  was  on  ex- 
ceedingly good  terms — more  by  reason  of  a  reflected 
antagonism  to  the  views  attributed  to  the  new  school 
than  by  any  personal  antipathy.  One  has  only  to 
peruse  the  letters  written  by  him  to  Balakireif  and  Rim- 
sky-Korsakoff,  and  his  records  of  meetings  with  them, 
to  perceive  a  marked  difference  between  his  behaviour 
towards  them  and  his  demeanour  when  an  expression 
of  opinion  regarding  them  was  invited.  This  differ- 
ence the  present  writer  prefers  to  attribute  to  the  party 
prejudice,  from  which  so  few  musicians  in  Russia  were 
at  that  time  free,  than  to  deliberate  and  unblushing 
sincerity  on  Tchaikovsky's  part.  Whether  to  attribute 
the  opinion  given  by  Krouglikoff,  that  "everything 
good  in  Tchaikovsky's  '  Mazeppa '  is  taken  from  Dar- 
gomijsky,  Cui,  Korsakoff  and  Moussorgsky  "  to  party 
feeling  or  to  actual  fact  is  a  point  upon  which  silence 
is  perhaps  wisest. 

It  seems  quite  reasonable,  then,  to  assume  that  but 
for  the  controversy  aroused  by  camp-followers,  the 
music  of  Tchaikovsky  would  have  been  judged  upon 
its  merits  as  pure  music  and  not  as  an  outrage  against 
the  nationalistic  ideal.  It  is  moreover  conceivable  that 
if  the  recent  duel  between  two  writers,  respectively 
singing  and  contesting  the  virtues  of  British  folk-tunes 
as  thematic  material  in  British  compositions,  had  been 
conducted  in  a  somewhat  larger  arena  than  the  pages 
of  a  review  not  at  all  widely  read  among  musicians  in 
this  country,  there  would  have  been  a  considerable  rise 
in  the  price  of  ink  and  as  considerable  a  fall  in  the 
standard  of  manners  as  must  have  occurred  when  Rus- 
sian musical  Nationalism  and  Eclecticism  were  the  sub- 
jects of  lively  discussion. 


266  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

There  are  apparently  several  points  that  have  to  be 
considered  in  respect  of  the. question  of  Tchaikovsky's 
style. 

In  what  does  Nationalism  precisely  consist?  If  the 
employment  of  folk-tunes  in  the  first  generation  results 
in  the  formation  of  a  style  generated  by  the  stylistic 
features  of  the  original  folk-tunes  in  future  genera- 
tions, it  would  appear  a  little  premature  as  yet  to  seek 
for  any  de&nite  signs  of  the  perpetuation  of  the 
national  manner  in  the  music  of  Russian  composers.  At 
the  moment  of  writing  there  are  comparatively  few  in 
whose  works  this  resultant  st}'le  can  be  traced.  For 
the  present  it  may  merely  be  surmised  that  if  this 
quality  of  the  folk-song  as  music  is  to  be  reflected  in 
the  works  in  which  the  folk-song  style  is  to  appear, 
then  the  Russian  folk-song  has  a  good  deal  to  recom- 
mend it  as  the  basis  of  such  an  art;  and  if  folk-melo- 
dies could  ever  reflect  the  soul  of  a  nation  the  Russian 
folk-song  is  the  one  most  likely  to  voice  national  and 
racial  characteristics. 

Without  going  very  far  into  a  comparison  between 
the  merits  of  the  Russian  popular  melody  and  those  of 
our  own  land  it  must  be  immediately  conceded  that 
whereas  in  the  first  case  the  gramophone  has  only 
served  on  behalf  of  the  collector,  m  the  other  it  has  en- 
dangered the  very  existence  of  any  spontaneous  and 
original  song-miaking  activity  by  carrying  among  the 
rural  population  a  type  of  music  originally  designed 
for  no  better  purpose  than  that  of  commerce.  And  even 
if  this  class  of  melody  should  undergo  the  process  of 
modification  and  selection  held  to  constitute  its  "  com- 
munalisation  "  it  can  become  nothing  better  than  a  base 
thing,  unless  communalised  out  of  all  recognition.     To 


TREATMENT   OF   FOLK-TUNES.  267 

communalise  a  vice  is  nothing  more  satisfactory  than 
the  coining  of  a  new  method  of  practising  that  vice,  a 
method  which,  though  characteristic  of  a  particular 
locahty,  is  none  the  better  for  that. 

Tchaikovsky  frequently  made  use  of  folk-tunes,  but 
he  employed  them  in  a  manner  associated  with  Western 
tradition.  It  seems  more  than  likely  that  his  transac- 
tions with  Ealakireff,  the  nature  of  which  is  revealed 
in  the  correspondence  which  lasted  from  1868  until 
1 891,  may  have  turned  his  attention  to  a  source  which 
might  otherwise  not  have  attracted  him,  but  whatever 
it  was  that  suggested  the  use  of  popular  melodies  as 
basic  material  for  certain  compositions,  he  was  rarely 
successful  in  imparting  to  their  treatment  the  special 
complexion  requisite  for  the  preservation  of  their  char- 
acter as  an  indigenous  product. 

But  apart  from  the  question  of  folk-music,  is  Tchai- 
kovsky to  be  regarded  as  voicing  in  his  music  the  soul 
of  the  nation  to  which  he  belongs  ? 

It  would  be  idle  to  deny  the  quality  of  individuality 
in  his  work,  but  it  is  a  personal  individuality  and  not  a 
racial. 

It  is  of  course  quite  easy  to  understand  that  as  Tchai- 
kovsky's music  was  so  long  the  sole  representative  of 
any  kind  of  Russian  musical  thought,  its  style  was  for 
a  time  closely  associated  in  Western  Europe,  as  it  still 
is  in  England,  with  the  psychological  characteristics  of 
the  Russian. 

In  reality,  however,  Tchaikovsky's  music  reflects 
hardly  anything  else  than  his  own  very  distinct  per- 
sonality— a  personality  lacking  in  more  than  one  char- 
acteristic attribute  of  the  Russian. 

In  order  to  dispel  the  deep-rooted  notion  that  Tchai- 


268  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

kovsky  himself  was  typically  Russian,  let  us  inquire 
into  the  predominating  characteristics  of  the  Russian 
people.  "  The  great  Russian,"  says  Mr.  Maurice 
Baring,  "  was  the  pioneer  of  the  Slav  race."  Speaking 
of  the  climatic  influences  of  Great  Russia  upon  the 
character  formation  of  its  people,  he  holds  that  "it 
leads  them  firstly  to  battle  with  the  hostile  forces  of 
nature,  for  battle  with  them  he  must,  as  far  as  possible, 
in  order  to  live,  and  consequently  the  struggle  develops 
in  him  qualities  of  tenacity,  energy  and  strength ;  and 
secondly,  it  leads  him  to  bow  down  and  submit  to  the 
overwhelming  and  insuperable  forces  of  nature,  against 
which  all  struggle  is  hopeless.  Thus  it  is  that  he  de- 
velops qualities  of  patience,  resignation  and  weakness. 
This,  again,  accounts  for  that  mixture  in  the  Russian 
which  more  than  all  things  puzzles  the  Western  Euro- 
pean, namely,  the  blend  of  roughness  and  good-nature, 
of  kindness  and  brutal  insensibility  ....  In  the  face 
of  obstacles,  not  a  natural  hardness,  but  the  stoicism 
which  the  bitterness  of  the  struggle  has  taught  him,  gets 
the  upper  hand." 

In  this  last  phrase  lies  something  germane  to  our  dis- 
cussion. Where  is  the  stoicism  of  the  man  whose  every 
woe  is  expressed  in  his  music  ?  Again,  we  are  told  by 
the  same  writer  of  the  wide  appreciation  on  the  part  of 
Russians  of  the  comic  genius  of  foreign  countries. 
After  mentioning  the  popularity  of  J.  K.  Jerome,  W.  W. 
Jacobs,  Kipling  and  Chesterton,  Mr.  Baring  assures  us 
that  it  is  neither  the  problems  nor  the  sociological  in- 
terest of  Shaw  that  so  captivate  the  Russian  public,  but 
his  Irish  wit  ! 

*   '"The  Russian  People"  (Methuen). 


THE   PESSIMISM    OF   TCHAIKOVSKY.  269 

In  tlic  work  of  a  Rimsky-Korsakoff  we  do  not  go 
far  without  perceiving"  a  reflection  of  this  sense  for 
humour.  But  neither  the  music  nor  the  autobiographi- 
cal material  bequeathed  us  by  Tchaikovsky  gives  us 
reason  to  suppose  that  humour  is  a  vital  part  of  the 
Russian  character,  and  one  has  but  to  read  the  gloomi- 
est of  Gorky's  plays  or  stories — to  mention  Gogol  or 
Ostrovsky  would  be  to  score  too  facile  a  victory — to 
discover  that  without  this  humoristic  sensibility  we  have 
but  a  poor  Russian. 

We  have  now  to  refute  the  last  and  most  complete 
fallacy  in  the  conventional  estimate  of  the  Russian 
character^an  estimate  which  is  derived  as  much  from 
Tchaikovsky's  music  as  from  any  other  and  equally 
misleading  source. 

In  writing  the  sentence  "pessimism  is  the  keynote  of 
Tchaikovsky's  music  "  one  seems  to  commit  a  gigantic 
plagiarism,  for  this  verdict  must  have  been  delivered 
in  a  thousand  analytical  programmes.  But  in  enun- 
ciating the  equally  true  statement  that  pessimism  is  no/ 
the  ke}^note  of  the  gamut  of  virtues  and  defects  form- 
ing the  Russian  character  and  that  exuberance  (either 
in  the  direction  of  pessimism  or  of  light-hearted  gaiety) 
is  that  keynote,  one  may  confidently  expect  to  see  the 
fallicious  estimate  toppling  to  the  table  like  the  pro- 
verbial house  of  playing-cards. 

In  truth,  there  is,  however,  one  particular  trait  com- 
mon to  our  composer  and  the  race  to  which  he  belongs, 
and  that  is  plasticity,  a  capacity  for  assimilation,  a 
suppleness  of  mind  by  which  Mr.  Baring  and  others 
account  for  the  mentioned  appreciation  of  things  for- 
eign. And  expressed  in  the  terms  of  our  controversy, 
this  characteristic  is  called  eclecticism. 


270  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

We  arrive,  therefore,  by  a  somewhat  tortuous  though 
sufficiently  well-lit  path,  at  the  conclusion  that  Tchai- 
kovsky is  a  truly  typical  Russian  in  that  he  has  an  in- 
finite capacity  for  writing  in  the  styles  of  other  nations. 
Let  us  now  observe,  however,  the  not  unimportant  dis- 
tinction, that  whereas  the  nationalist  composers  occa- 
sionally employed  the  vernacular  to  talk  of  other  lands, 
Tchaikovsky  almost  invariably  talked  about  himself. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  waning  of  Tchaikov- 
sky's popularity,  even  in  England,  where  for  so  long  a 
time  the  quality  of  his  work  went  unchallenged. 

But  even  so  late  in  the  day  as  this,  to  point  either  to 
this  or  that  theme  m  the  "  Pathetic  "  symphony,  which 
by  the  few  is  regarded  as  a  monument  of  vulgar  senti- 
mentality, as  likely  to  be  ultimately  considered  un- 
worthy to  form  the  foundation  of  a  work  cast  in  the 
symphonic  mould,  to  the  want  of  proportion  in  the 
piano  concerto,  where,  forsaking  a  spuriously  epic  man- 
ner, the  composer  suddenly  and  quite  inconsequently 
refers  us  to  an  unimportant  episode  from  his  own  dis- 
tinctly unheroic  life,  or  to  the  blatant  hysteria  of  the 
solemn  "  1812,"  is  to  invite  the  paralysing  response  that 
all  this  is  a  question  of  taste.  To  which  our  rejoinder 
is  that  the  acclamation  of  Tchaikovsky  is  called  forth 
by  his  orchestral  works  because  he  was  a  master  as  well 
as  a  pioneer  of  orchestration;  that  brilliant  and  effec- 
tive instrumentation  is  capable  of  covering  a  multitude 
of  banalities  and  cliches^  and  that  as  soon  as  Tchaikov- 
sky is  deprived  of  this  prop,  his  distinction  evaporates 
instantaneously. 

The  question  of  Nationalism  and  Eclecticism  becomes 
insignificant  so  far  as  it  concerns  this  composer  when 
we  inquire  into  the  quality  of  his  output.      A   great 


RUBINSTEIN.  2/ 1 

deal  of  it  appears  to  have  been  genuinely  inspired.  But 
however  important  a  factor  inspiration  may  be  in  the 
composition  of  a  work  of  art,  its  product  must  always 
depend  for  its  immortality  upon  the  quality  of  the  in- 
spiration rather  than  its  mere  presence. 

In  approaching  the  subject  of  Anton  Rubinstein  we 
are  freed  from  any  necessity  of  passing  a  verdict  upon 
his  creative  powers.  The  almost  complete  absence  of 
his  works  from  the  present-day  European  concert- 
giver's  programme  is  sufficiently  eloquent  in  itself  to 
obviate  all  need  of  argument.  Rubinstein,  a  Jew  and 
a  Slav,  belonged  to  two  races  in  which  the  faculty  of 
assimilation  is  very  highly  developed ;  but  the  mixture 
in  his  case  would  appear  to  have  had  an  antidotal 
effect,  and  to  this  we  must  attribute  the  circumstance 
of  his  having  consistently  followed  the  line  of  German 
tradition — in  his  day  the  line  of  least  resistance.  To 
call  Rubinstein  an  eclectic  would  be  merely  to  strain 
the  meaning  of  the  term  for  the  political  purpose  of 
placing  him  in  antiposition  to  the  Nationalists.  In 
the  capacity  of  operatic  composer,  he  accorded  a  some- 
what scanty  recognition  to  the  principle  of  setting 
native  texts.  Eleven  of  his  nineteen  operas  are  based 
upon  foreign  subjects  and  w^e  have  the  authority  of 
Cheshikin  for  supposing  that  "  The  Demon,"  for  the 
story  of  which  he  went  to  Lermontoff,  was  the  direct 
outcome  of  the  encouragement  given  by  the  authorities 
to  national  opera  in  the  case  of  "  Boris  Godounoff." 
Rubinstein,  it  is  interesting  to  note,  sought  the  opinion 
of  Balakireff's  circle  upon  this  work,  but  they,  it  seems, 
were  impressed  more  by  the  able  manner  in  which  he 
rendered  his  reproduction  of  the  score  at  the  piano  than 
by  the  music  itself. 


272  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

One  gathers  tliat  his  brother,  Nicholas,  was  by  many 
considered  to  be  his  superior  as  virtuoso  as  well  as  in 
musical  judgment,  but  that  Nicholas's  appetite  for 
social  enjoyments  was  such  as  to  militate  against  the 
expenditure  of  a  due  amount  of  applicative  energy  in 
the  more  important  sphere. 

Before  leaving  these  composers  it  must  be  admitted 
that  they  have  served  their  turn  in  attracting  the  atten- 
tion of  Western  Europe  towards  Russian  music  proper. 
It  is  indeed  very  doubtful  whether,  but  for  the  interest 
in  the  works  of  Tchaikovsky,  manifested  by  Russian 
society,  the  operas  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff,  which  are  now 
becoming  popular  m  Russia,  would  ever  have  gained 
anything  but  a  strictly  limited  public  notice.  In  Eng- 
land, it  IS  easy  to  see,  we  -are  indebted  to  the  sensation- 
alism of  "1812"  and  to  the  sentimentalism  of  the 
"Pathetic"  symphony  for  the  presence  of  a  large  pro- 
portion of  our  present  overflowing  "  Promenade  "  audi- 
ences, which,  one  is  bound  to  admit,  contain  many  who 
were  first  attracted  to  symphonic  music  by  the  sensuous 
or  the  programmatic  rather  than  the  intellectual  appeal 
of  such  works. 

To  give  Tchaikovsky  his  full  due  as  a  benefactor  of 
Russian  music  we  must  recall  the  circumstance  that,  at 
the  opening  of  the  reign  of  Alexander  III,  only  three 
of  his  operas  had  been  performed  and  only  one  of 
Rimsky-Korsakoff's.  It  will  readily  be  understood  that 
the  combined  eight  works  of  Glinka,  Dargomijsky  and 
Seroff  and  the  then  existing  specimens  of  Cui,  were 
hardly  sufficient  to  preserve  a  strong  interest  in  the  opera 
as  a  Russian  product,  and  even  taking  Rubinstein  into 
account  we  find  that  only  seven  of  the  twelve  w^orks 
written  prior  to  1881  were  based  upon  subjects  likely 


ALEXANDER    III    AND    TCHAIKOVSKY.  2/3 

to  suggest  to  the  Russian  public  that  they  were  pro- 
perly to  be  considered  as  national.  It  is  quite  natural, 
therefore,  that  on  its  advent,  Tchaikovsky's  operatic 
music  should  have  gained  the  approval  of  Alexander. 
He  took  a  great  interest  in  the  art,  and  Russian  society 
was  at  that  time  disposed  to  follow  in  the  Imperial 
footsteps  in  such  matters.  The  more  or  less  immediate 
appeal  of  Tchaikovsky's  musical  idiom  may  be  held  to 
account  for  the  circumstance  that  it  was  to  his  works 
that  the  advantage  of  frequent  performance  fell  be- 
tween the  years  1882  and  1898.  Seeing,  then,  that 
Tchaikovsky  wrote  for  his  own  and  Rimsky-Korsakoff 
for  a  future,  if  not  a  distant,  generation,  it  would  seem 
that,  but  for  the  former,  the  budding  interest  in  Russian 
opera  could  hardly  have  been  kept  alive.  If  he  mas- 
queraded as  a  composer  of  Russian  music  (and  even  of 
"  good  "  music)  he  did  so  to  really  good  purpose,  and 
now  that  genuine  Russian  music  is  coming  into  its  own 
it  behoves  us  to  remember  that,  but  for  him,  the  later 
operas  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff — a  very  hiiportant  national 
product — might  never  have  been  heard  in  the  country 
of  their  origin. 


19 


V. 

TANEIEFF. 

HAVING  classified  Arensky  as  a  Nationalist  manque 
we  must  balance  matters  by  considering  the  sub- 
ject of  this  chapter  as  a  universalist  reussi. 

Serge  Ivanovich  Taneieff,  born  in  the  government  of 
Vladimir  on  November  13,  1856,  manifested  early  in 
life  the  possession  of  those  very  qualities,  such,  for  in- 
stance, as  an  assimilative  capacity,  which  justify  our 
estimating  him  as  an  eclectic  and  which  enabled  him 
to  earn  no  small  reputation  for  versatility  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  compositions  of  others.  His  facult)' 
of  discernment  when  assessing  the  merits  of  a  musical 
work  was  valued  b\'  none  more  than  Tchaikovsky,  who 
often  submitted  his  compositions  to  the  judgment  of 
his  young  friend  and  never  took  offence  at  the  stric- 
tures so  frequently  passed  upon  them.  At  the  age  of 
ten,  Tcincieff  entered  the  Moscow  Conservatoire  and  be- 
gan taking  lessons  under  Langcr.  His  aptitude  was 
such    as   to    gain   the   notice    of    Nicholas    Rubinstein, 

whose  influence  was  subsequently  brought  to  bear  on 

2:4 


TANEIEFF.  2/5 

the  lad's  parents,  with  the  result  that  the  plan  of  inter- 
rupting his  musical  studies,  in  order  that  he  might  enter 
a  public  school,  was  abandoned.  Continuing,  there- 
fore, in  the  conservatoire,  he  was  able  to  perfect  him- 
self in  the  subjects  of  form  and  composition  under  the 
guidance  respectively  of  Hubert  and  Tchaikovsky, 
while  his  pianistic  talent  was  so  well  fostered  by  the 
director  himself,  that  in  1875  he  won  the  gold  medal 
for  solo-playing  and  made  a  triumphant  debut  in 
Brahms's  piano  concerto.  "  Besides  purity  and  strength 
of  touch,  grace  and  ease  of  execution,  Taneieff  aston- 
ished everyone  by  his  maturity  of  intellect,  his  self- 
control,  and  the  calm,  objective  style  of  his  interpre- 
tation." Thus  Tchaikovsky,  who,  some  months  later, 
was  able  to  congratulate  the  young  virtuoso  on  the 
"  power  to  grasp  the  composer's  intention  in  all  its  most 
delicate  and  minute  details  "  evinced  in  the  execution 
of  his  own  concerto. 

Shortly  after  this,  Taneieff  embarked  on  a  long  Rus- 
sian tour  with  Auer,  the  celebrated  violinist,  and  the 
years  1877-8  were  spent  in  concert-giving  in  Paris  and 
in  certain  musical  centres  in  the  Baltic  provinces. 

In  1878  he  succeeded  Tchiikovsky  as  professor  of 
orchestration  at  his  ahna  mater  and  on  the  death  of 
Nicholas  Rubinstein  was  appointed  to  succeed  him  in 
the  piano  professorship.  In  1885,  Tchaikovsky,  failing 
to  induce  Rimsky-Korsakoff  to  accept  the  directorship, 
offered  that  position  to  Taneieff,  who  held  it  for  four 
vears,  retiring,  in  favour  of  Safonoff,  with  the  object 
of  devoting  himself  to  composition.  Tchaikovsky 
further  assisted  his  protege  by  himself  serving  under 
him  on  the  staff. 

The  leisure  secured  by  retirement   from  his  arduous 


2/0  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

directorial  and  professional  duties  has  b:en  fruitful 
only  in  a  limited  degree,  for  several  compositions  con- 
ceived in  symphonic  form  have  yet  to  be  published.  In 
addition  to  the  six  known  string  quartets,  of  which  the 
third  is  the  m.ost  favoured  by  public  performers,  there 
are  two  such  works  still  in  manuscript.  His  other 
chamber-works  include  two  string  quintets  in  which  he 
alternately  doubles  the  'cello  and  viola  parts,  a  string 
trio  (two  violins  and  violin),  Op.  21,  and  a  piano  trio, 
Op.  22.  His  operatic  trilogy  on  the  Orestes  of 
^schylus  was  produced  at  St.  Petersburg  in  1895. 

Taneieff  as  a  composer  cannot  be  said  to  appeal  to 
the  heart.  There  is  much  to  be  admired  in  the  struc- 
ture of  his  compositions,  and  his  ingenuity  in  ringing 
rhythmic  changes  tempts  one  to  make  a  comparison 
(with  Erahms)  which  cannot,  however,  be  taken  any 
further.  He  has  nothing  at  all  of  the  sensuous  charm 
which  constitutes  the  essentially  appealing  quality  of 
his  master's  music,  and  his  merit  as  composer  lies  in  the 
sphere  of  unusual  technical  proficiency. 

His  book  on  counterpoint  is  freely  used  and  much  es- 
teemed in  Russian  educational  establishments. 

We  have  now  to  consider  a  composer  who  may  be 
reckoned  as  forming  a  link  between  the  former  tradi- 
tion of  Occidentalism,  once  so  jealously  guarded  in 
the  citadel  of  the  Moscow  Conservatoire,  and  the  pre- 
sent musical  movement  in  Russia.  The  internecine  war 
between  Nationalism  and  Universalism,  modified  in  its 
second  stage  to  a  more  or  less  friendly  rivalry,  has  now 
completely  subsided,  and  while  Russian  musicians  in- 
dividually are  rather  inclined  to  devote  themselves  to 
a  search  for  new  mediums  of  musical  expression  than 
to  either  of  the  ideals  of  the  later  nineteenth  century;' 


RACHMANINOFF.  277 

the  music  of  Russia  as  a  whole  claims  the  support  of 
all  its  creative  exponents  in  its  purpose  of  destroying 
the  high  wall  which  has  too  long  dehecl  progress  in 
many  parts  of  Western  Europe.  The  composer  here 
referred  to  is  Rachmaninoff.  He  may  well  be  called 
upon  to  figure  as  the  first  subject  of  the  concluding 
section  of  this  volume. 


PART    IV. 
THE    PRESENT   MOVEMENT. 


RACHMANINOFF. 

FOR  reasons  that  have  already  been  hinted  at,  any 
attempt  to  place  the  large  number  of  present-day 
Russian  composers  in  definite  categories  must  end  in 
comparative  failure.  At  the  time  of  Tchaikovsky's 
death  it  seemed  likely  that  the  traditions  of  the  Mos- 
cow school  would  be  carried  on  by  certain  young  mem- 
bers who  had  already  made  their  mark  as  composers. 
But  we  are  constantly  being  reminded  that  if  a  splen- 
did musicianship  can  be  looked  upon  as  a  peculiar  char- 
acteristic of  the  Russian  school  in  general  by  virtue 
of  the  invariable  association  of  that  quality  with  Rus- 
sian composers  of  tc-day,  the  highly  developed  faculty 
of  eclecticism  has  gone  far  towards  the  extinction  of 
anything  which  could  be  considered  as  lending  a 
nationalistic  flavour  to  their  output.  The  glow  and  en- 
thusiasm of  Rachmaninoff's  earlier  manner  have  paled 
and  have  been  superseded  by  a  more  or  less  austere, 
though  energetic,  academicism.  Gliere,  at  one  time  not 
a  little  inclined  toward  the  nationalistic  method  and 
in  some  of  whose  earlier  compositions  may  nevertheless 

281 


282  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

be  noticed  the  Muscovite  conservative  tendency,  which 
became  stronger  than  otherwise  it  might  through  having 
taken  to  itself  the  role  of  protestantism — calculated 
to  provide  a  corrective  against  the  "  over-advanced " 
methods  of  the  Koutchkisti — has  now  been  attracted  by 
the  allurements  of  French  mysticism.  Scriabin,  once 
a  somewhat  too  pronounced  admirer  of  Chopin,  has 
embarked  upon  an  exploration  of  a  new  musical  ter- 
ritory in  order  to  find  a  suitable  harmonic  edifi.ce  as 
cathedral  for  his  theosophistic  faith.  \^assilenko,  de- 
spite his  Moscow  schooling,  adopted  for  a  time  the 
ideals  of  the  Nationalists  and  imitated  their  manner; 
but  he  has  since  contracted  other  sympathies  and  with 
true  Slavonic  plasticity  of  mind  has  followed  in  the 
France -ward  footsteps  of  the  other  similarly  disposed 
Russians.  Grechaninoff,  who  studied  in  both  schools, 
seems  now  unable  to  decide  w-hich  to  follow. 

Of  the  St.  Petersburg  group,  Akimenko,  one  of  Kor- 
sakoff's pupils,  is  also  betraying  a  French  tendency, 
one  far  more  marked  than  that  of  Gliere.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  Tcherepnin.  As  to  Stravinsky,  estim- 
ated by  Korsakoff  as  a  pupil  of  no  great  promise,  he 
has,  while  still  quite  young,  established  himself  by 
means  of  solid  achievement  as  a  sort  of  post-nation- 
alist. 

Of  the  older  school,  Ippolitoff-Ivanoff,  who  migrated 
from  St.  Petersburg  to  Tiflis  and  thence  as  a  conductor 
to  Moscow,  has  sympathised  very  actively,  so  far  as  the 
production  of  nationalistic  opera  is  concerned,  with  the 
ideals  which  he  was  taught  to  revere,  and  somewhat 
mildly  also,  as  a  composer,  w^hile  Wihtol  has  devoted 
himself  whole-heartedly  to  the  establishment  of  a  musi- 
cal nationality  for  the  Fett. 


RACHMANINOFF'S    TRAINING.  283 

Worthy  of  mention  as  emphasising  the  difficulty  of 
classification  and  revealing  the  variegated  complexion 
of  contemporary  Russian  music,  are  Steinberg,  who, 
though  taught  for  -some  time  by  Korsakoff,  has  shaken 
off  that  influence,  and  Medtner,  whose  German  origin 
must  surely  account  in  a  large  measure — and  obviously 
a  good  deal  more  than  his  Moscow  training — for  his 
thoroughly  Brahmsian  style.  Medtner  is  one  of 
many  Russian  composers  who  have  not  get  gained  any 
considerable  reputation  in  Western  Europe.  Like  so 
many  others  who,  though  m  a  sense  "  inglorious,"  arc 
by  no  means  mute,  his  output  is  of  an  exceedingly  high 
quality. 

And  indeed  no  greater  tribute  could  be  paid  to  the 
consistent  excellence  of  the  present-day  school  of  Rus- 
sian composition  than  mention  of  the  difficulties  to  be 
met  with  by  the  conscientious  compiler  of  a  brief  list 
of  sterling  composers. 

Serge  Vassilievich  Rachmaninoff  is  descended  from 
a  family  of  the  landed  class  owning  an  estate  in  the 
Government  of  Novgorod,  where  he  was  born  on  March 
20,  1873.  He  gave  an  early  hint  as  to  his  true  voca- 
tion, and  at  nine  years  of  age  he  was  already  a  student 
in  the  St.  Petersburg  Conservatoire.  Before  reaching 
his  'teens,  however,  he  was  removed  to  the  Moscow 
Institution,  where  he  studied  with  Zviereff,  Siloti 
(his  kinsman),  Taneieff  and  Arensky.  Here  he  re- 
mained for  seven  years,  during  which  time  he  de- 
veloped himself  particularly  as  a  virtuoso  on  the  piano 
and  as  a  versatile  composer.  At  the  close  of  his  stu- 
dentship in  1892,  he  had  already  won  high  opinions 
as  a  performer,  and  the  award  of  the  gold  medal  for 
composition,    made    in    respect    of    his    one-act    opera, 


284  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

"Aleko"  (after  Pushkin),  performed  at  AIoscow  in  the 
following  year,  gave  him  every  reason  to  expect  a  bril- 
liant career. 

After  a  long  concert-tour  of  Russia,  he  settled  down 
in  Moscow,  receiving  the  appointment  of  professor  at 
the  Maryinsky  Institute  for  Girls,  which  he  held  for 
some  ten  years. 

In  1897  he  took  over  the  conductorship  of  a  private 
operatic  concern  m  ^loscow,  the  duties  connected  with 
which  occupation  necessitating  a  cessation  of  his  work 
as  composer  during  the  two  years'  term  of  his  engage- 
ment. 

To  what  extent  Rachmaninoff,  as  composer,  would 
have  gained  the  ear  of  Western  Europe  without  the  for- 
tunate inspiration  which  gave  birth  to  the  C  sharp  minor 
Prelude,  it  is  difficult  to  determine.  One  may  conjec- 
ture the  opinion  that,  m  England  at  least,  quite  as  much 
interest  is  aroused  in  an  audience  by  the  likelihood  of 
his  being  persuaded  to  give  an  authoritative  reading 
of  this  trifle,  as  by  the  hearing  of  a  concerto  or  a  sym- 
phony from  his  pen.  W  hen  he  hrst  visited  London,  in 
the  triple  role  of  performer,  composer  and  conductor, 
he  quickly  revealed  to  subscribers  of  the  Philharmonic 
Society  that  his  fame  ought  not  to  rest  upon  this  slender 
pedestal.  He  had  of  course  already  won  a  properly- 
founded  reputation  in  Russia. 

In  1 90 1  his  second  piano  concerto  was  produced  at 
Moscow — the  composer  as  soloist — and  in  the  follow- 
ing season  it  was  introduced  by  Siloti  at  St.  Peters- 
burg. The  cantata  based  on  Nekrassoff's  poem, 
"  Spring,"  composed  and  produced  at  about  this  time, 
was  given  four  years  or  so  later  at  St.  Petersburg,  in 
which  performance  the  principal  role  was  sustained  by 


THREEFOLD   ACTIVITY.  285 

Shalyapin.  In  1904  he  again  undertook  a  two  years' 
engagement  ?s  conductor,  the  scene  of  his  labours  this 
time  being  the  Imperial  Opera  at  Moscow.  Once  more, 
however,  he  found  that  the  demand  en  his  time  was  such 
as  to  leave  no  leisure  for  creative  work.  Eventually 
resigning  this  post,  he  took  up  residence  in  Dresden, 
and  has  since  devoted  himself  to  composition,  concert- 
playing  and  conducting.  He  is  now  a  regular  visitor 
to  England  and  has  made  several  appearances  in  such 
provincial  centres  as  Liverpool,  where  his  second  sym- 
phony was  performed  in  191 1 ;  Leeds,  where  in  the  same 
year  the  festival  committee  found  a  place  for  his  third 
piano  concerto  and  the  above-mentioned  symphony; 
Pradford,  Manchester  and  Sheffield. 

Rachmaninoff  has  made  essays  in  all  the  important 
branches  of  composition.     His  contribution  to  chamber 
music  is  somewhat  slender,  but  the  "elegiac"  trio  (in 
memory    of    Tchaikovsky),    which,    together    with    a 
couple  of  instrumental  sonatas,  constitutes  the  whole 
of  his  output   under  this  head,  is   a  work  which  has 
quickly  gained  the  approval  of  those  who  have  sampled 
its  quality.     For  the  orchestra,  in  addition  to  the  works 
already  enumerated,  there  are  "  The  Rock,"  a  fantasia. 
Op.  7   (after  Lermontoff),  the  first   symphony,   a   Bo- 
hemian caprice  and  a  symphonic  poem,  "  The  Island 
of  the  Dead,"  which  is  reputed  to  be  one  of  his  finest 
works      He    has    written    many    charming    pieces    for 
piano  which  would  not  be  at  any  disadvantage  in  com- 
parison with  the  popular  prelude,  and  it  is  satisfactory 
to  note  that  pianists  are  beginning  to  make  a  practical 
comparison.     The  set  of  six  "Moments  Musicaux,"  an 
early  work,  is  individualistic  in  manner  to  an  extent 
emphasising    the    remarkable    modification    that    has 


286  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

taken  place  in  the  composer's  st}'le;  the  Preludes,  Op. 
23,  set  an  executive  task  suggesting  that  his  own  tech- 
nical accomplishments  have  erased  all  recollection  of 
the  limitations  of  others.  He  has  written  a  sonata  and 
besides  two  suites  for  two  pianos,  there  are  six  pieces, 
Op.  II,  for  four  hands.  Another  work  deserving  in- 
clusion here  is  the  set  of  variations  on  a  theme  of 
Chopin. 

There  are  a  number  of  charming  songs,  that  entitled 
"Lilacs"  (No.  5  of  Op.  21)  being  a  favourite,  while  the 
"Fate"  song.  Op.  17 — an  ingenious  attempt  (but  not  a 
very  successful  one)  at  utilising  the  subject  of  Beet- 
hoven's fifth  symphony  as  thematic  and  poetic  material 
— has  attracted  the  attention  of  recitalists  by  reason, 
no  doubt,  of  the  factitious  interest  lent  by  its  scheme. 

Since  "  Aleko,"  which  earned  him  his  prize,  Rach- 
maninoff has  written  two  more  single-act  operas,  "  The 
Covetous  Knight "  and  "  Francesca  da  Rimini,"  both  of 
which  were  revived  in  }kIoscow^  during  the  season  of 
191 3.  A  new  choral  work,  founded  on  E.  A.  Poe's 
"  The  Bells,"  has  lately  been  given  with  great  success 
in  St.  Petersburg  and  is  promised  an  early  English  per- 
formance. 

As  performer,  Rachmaninoff  profits  b)-  some  very 
hard  work  which  has  given  him  an  amazing  strength  of 
wrist,  a  seemingly  inexhaustible  reserve  of  power,  and 
a  technique  in  general  which  has  very  few  equals  cmong 
pianists  of  the  present  time. 


11. 

GLIERE   AND    IPPOLITOFF-IVANOFF. 

RHEIXHOLD  GLI£RE,  born  at  Kieff  on  January 
II,  1875,  lias  contrived  to  puzzle  the  classifiers. 
Educated  at  Moscow,  where  he  studied  with  Taneieff 
and  Ippolitoff-Ivanoff,  he  came  naturally  under  the  in- 
fluence of  Tchaikovsky;  yet,  in  his  work,  both  prior 
to  and  since  the  symphonic  poem,  "  The  Sirens  "^ — - 
in  which  a  s)'mpathy  with  French  ideals  shows  him 
somewhat  at  a  disadvantage — we  discover  a  certain 
method  warranting  the  assumption  that  he  is  not  alto- 
gether wanting  m  a  regard  for  the  accredited  founders 
of  the  modern  school.  In  the  first  of  his  two  string 
quartets,  that  m  A,  numbered  Op.  2,  is  to  be  observed 
a  striving  after  the  nationalistic  manner,  but  an  ab- 
sence of  ruggedness  from  the  treatment  of  the  themes, 
which  are  clearly  derived  from  a  folk  origin,  remind 
us  that  the  composer's  early  environment  has  not  been 
without  effect.  One  is  inclined  to  surmise  that  Gliere 
has  succumbed  to  the  glamour  of  such  success  as  has 
been  attained  by  Arensky,  whose  style  of  treatment  is 
reflected  in  his  work,  and  to  conjecture  that  under  a 


288  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

different  influence  he  might  have  proved  capable  of  more 
significant  things. 

As  a  composer  of  solo  instrumental  music  he  is  per- 
haps seen  at  his  weakest.  His  piano  pieces  reveal  a  pre- 
occupation with  the  m.erely  pedagogic,  and  those  writ- 
ten for  the  orchestral  instruments  have  hardly  a  strong 
claim  to  our  notice  beyond  their  value  as  items  in  the 
curriculum.  His  duets  for  violins,  for  'cellos  and  for 
violin  and  'cello  (all  unaccompanied),  in  which  he  again 
shows  here  and  there  a  preference  for  themes  of  a  folk- 
song nature,  his  string  sextets  and  octet  bear  witness  to 
an  affection  for  the  bowed  instruments  to  the  repertories 
of  which  they  form  a  pleasing  acquisition.  He  has  been 
an  industrious  song-writer  and  is  to  be  credited  with  a 
choral  suite  (for  women's  voices),  having  the  four 
seasons  as  its  poetic  basis. 

His  symphonic  work  is  on  a  much  higher  plane  than 
that  in  the  above  categories.  His  first  symphony.  Op. 
8,  in  E  flat,  composed  in  1899,  when  still  a  student,  and 
performed  at  Moscow  in  1902  and  later  in  London,  has, 
together  with  the  quartets,  been  the  means  of  drawing 
the  notice  of  amateurs  to  the  composer's  work  and  of 
leading  them,  one  may  say,  to  expect  rather  more  from 
him  than  he  has  yet  given  us.  The  second  symphony 
has  not  yet,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  been  heard  in  Eng- 
land. "  The  Sirens,"  viewed  as  an  attempt  to  express 
the  turbulence  of  the  ocean,  has  perhaps  something  of 
the  commonplace  in  its  harmonic  colouring;  in  the  or- 
chestration, however,  we  recognise  that  mastery  char- 
acteristic of  the  young  Russian. 

Quite  lately  there  has  been  produced  in  Moscow  a 
work  which,  by  virtue  of  its  subject,  places  him  among 
the  creators  of  musical  epics.     It  is  a  symphony  or  sym- 


IPPOLITOFP'-IVANOFF.  289 

phonic  suite  based  upon  the  legend  of  Ilia  Mourometz, 
a  figure  familiar  from  his  prominent  appearances  in  the 
cycle  of  Kieff,  the  composer's  native  city.  Here  we  see 
Gliere  emulating  Eorodin  and  Rimsky-Korsakoff  in 
their  historical  and  legendary  operatic  essays.  The 
latter's  "  Sadko,"  it  will  be  remembered,  draws  its  liter- 
ary material  from  the  cycle  of  Novgorod. 

Gliere  occupies  his  time  in  teaching  and  composing. 
He  lives  in  Moscow. 

Ippolitoff-Ivancff  has  lately  made  himself  known  to 
followers  of  the  symphonic  branch  of  the  musical  art 
in  England  by  his  "  Caucasian  Sketches,"  but  his  name 
has  been  long  familiar  to  lovers  of  chamber  music  by 
reason  of  his  string  quartet.  Op.  13.  In  his  own  coun- 
try, however,  he  is  widely  known  and  esteemed  as  an 
influential  and  liberal-minded  administrator.  He  seems 
in  this  capacity  to  have  preserved  an  attitude  of  inde- 
pendence in  regard  to  the  antagonism  which  for  a  time 
existed  between  the  two  musical  factions  in  his  native 
land,  and  if  there  is  not  perhaps  a  great  deal  in  his 
music  which  would  indicate  a  profound  respect  for  the 
initiators  of  the  modern  school,  he  has  certainly  proved 
a  good  friend  of  Nationalism. 

Michael  Mikhailovich  Ippolitoff-Ivanoff  w^as  born  at 
Gatchina  on  November  15,  i8^g.  The  son  of  a 
mechanic  employed  at  the  Imperial  Palace,  he  is  quite 
an  exceptional  figure  in  the  ranks  of  Russian  creative 
musicians,  for  they  have,  for  the  most  part,  been  re- 
cruited from  the  upper  class.  After  six  years'  st^^dy 
under  Rimsky-Korsakoff  at  the  St.  Petersburg^  Conser- 
vatoire, he  proceeded,  in  1882,  to  Tiflis  as  director  of 
the  Music  School  and  conductor  of  the  symphony  con- 
certs of  the  Imperial  Musical  Society,  from  which  coign 

20 


290  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

he  exercised  an  influence  not  less  important  than  that 
of  Ropartz  in  Nancy.  There,  however,  the  analogy 
would  appear  to  end,  for  Ivanoff,  instead  of  expressing 
his  home  sickness  in  most  of  his  compositions,  like  the 
exiled  Breton,  he  set  himself  to  acquire  a  familiarity 
with  the  musical  idiom  of  the  Caucasus,  eventually  pub- 
lishing a  volume  dealing  with  the  national  songs  of 
Georgia.  Anyone  desirous  of  getting  a  glimpse  of  this 
country  as  it  appears  to  the  vision  of  a  musician,  is  re- 
commended to  consult  the  descriptive  letter  written  by 
Tchaikovsky  when  bound  on  a  visit  to  Ivanoff,  with 
whom  he  was  on  friend  1}'  terms.  (He  had  produced 
"Mazeppa"  in  Tiflis.) 

In  1890  Ivanoff,  evidently  anxious  to  secure  a  more 
central  position  in  Russian  musical  life,  wrote  to  Tchai- 
kovsky, sounding  him  as  to  the  likelihood  of  success 
meeting  his  application  for  the  post  of  professor  at 
Moscow,  but  it  transpired  that  the  rumoured  resigna- 
tion of  Altani,  which  had  prompted  the  suggestion,  was 
not  founded  on  fact.  At  the  end  of  the  same  year 
Tchaikovsky  made  representations  en  Ivanoff's  behalf 
to  the  Intendant  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Imperial  Opera 
with  the  primary  object  of  obtaining  a  hearing  for  the 
latter's  second  opera,  "Asra,"  produced  at  about  that 
time  in  Tiflis,  and  with  a  secondary  aim,  no  doubt,  of 
creating  an  interest  in  Ivanoff's  work.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, until  1893,  that  room  was  found  for  him  on  the 
conservatoire  staff  at  Moscow.  Arrived  there,  he  suc- 
ceeded to  the  position  of  conductor  of  the  Choral  So- 
ciety. This  he  held  until  1899,  when  he  took  over  the 
command  at  the  ^loscow  Private  Opera.  His  policy 
there  may  be  epitomised  by  quoting  the  operas  chosen 
for    his    benefit    performance    in     1903  :     Korsakoff's 


IVANOFF    AS    NATIONALIST.  29 1 

**  Kostchei  "  and  Tchaikovsky's  "  lolanthe."  During  its 
most  flourishing  period  no  less  than  five  of  Korsakoff's 
operas  were  mounted. 

There  is  no  shght  e\idence  of  Ivanoff's  sympathy 
with  the  procedure  of  deriving  the  hterary  basis  of 
music  from  the  homeland.  His  first  work,  produced 
soon  after  his  graduation,  the  overture,  "Yar  Khmel," 
is  founded  on  a  Russian  theme;  the  "Caucasian 
Sketches"  are  full  of  suggestions  of  that  Eastern 
flavour  so  characteristic  of  Russian  pictorial  music;  his 
third  opera,  "  Assya,"  is  a  setting  of  a  well-known  story 
by  Tourgenieff ;  there  are  three  cantatas,  each  in  memory 
of  a  great  Russian  poet,  and  the  three  Moorish  melodies. 
Op.  23,  for  voice,  testify  further  to  his  feeling  for 
oriental  colour,  as  does  the  suite,  Op.  20.  His  latest 
works  include  "  Iveria,"  Op.  42,  and  an  Armenian  Rhap- 
sody, Op.  48. 

Ivanoff,  whose  wife  is  a  well-known  singer,  is  now 
principal  of  the  JMoscow  Conservatoire,  in  succession  to 
Safonoff,  who  resigned  in  1906. 


III. 

SCRIABIN. 

IT  is  a  little  curious  that,  beginning  with  Wagner, 
musicians  who  have  employed  music  as  a  means  of 
portraying  some  phase  of  life,  have  all  been  greeted 
with  derision.  Strauss,  we  believe,  never  achieved  the 
distinction  of  being  actually  hissed,  but  that  failure 
may  be  accounted  for  when  we  recall  that  at  the  time 
of  his  first  appearance  in  concert  programmes,  the  pro- 
gressive movements  in  the  other  arts,  such  as  "  impres- 
sionism," did  not  receive  the  same  publicity  as  they  now 
do,  and  consequently  the  average  music-lover,  who  in 
the  early  nineties  cared  less  than  at  present  for  modern 
painting  and  sculpture,  did  not  arrive  at  the  same  de- 
gree of  exasperation  as  has  lately  been  produced  by 
the  simultaneous  appearances  of  "revolution"  or 
"  anarchy  "  in  the  work  of  the  Futurists  and  the  French 
pioneers,  on  the  one  hand,  and  in  that  of  Schonberg, 
Stravinsky  and  Scriabin  on  the  other. 

In  England  the  name  of  Scriabin  has  suddenly 
sprung  into  a  belated  notoriety  that,  but  for  what  ap- 
pears to  have  been  a  disinclination  on  the  part  of  a  fes- 

292 


SCRIABIN   AS    STUDENT.  293 

tival  committee  to  "  face"  his  music,  would  by  now  per- 
haps have  been  planed  down  into  fame.  If,  how- 
ever, we  look  into  his  history  we  find  that,  like  all  the 
revoluticnar}^  composers,  his  dexelopmcnt  to  the  point 
of  so-called  anarch}'  has  been  quite  gradual.  One  is 
bound,  nevertheless,  to  admit  that,  viewed  as  a  product 
of  modern  Russian  musical  society,  he  is  distinctly  a 
phenomenon.  Born  in  Moscow  on  December  25,  1871, 
he  passed  through  a  vicissitude  of  vocation,  similar  in 
kind,  though  not  in  degree,  to  that  experienced  by  Rim- 
sky-Korsakoff  and  Moussorgsky.  Having  followed  for 
a  time  the  course  of  preparation  for  the  military  career 
chosen  for  him  by  his  parents,  the  call  of  music  became 
so  insistent  that  he  left  the  Cadet  Corps  and  became  a 
student  at  the  Moscow  Conservatoire.  Like  Taneieff, 
with  whom  he  first  studied,  and  Rachmaninoff,  he  had 
a  marked  talent  as  pianist. 

The  compositions  belonging  to  his  first  period  arc 
devoid  of  any  suggestion  of  tutorial  influence;  the 
early  preludes,  mazurkas  and  impromptus  are  indeed, 
as  their  generic  titles  might  lead  one  to  suppose,  the 
outcome  of  a  ver\-  strong  affection  for  the  music  of 
Chopin,  though  the  uncharitable  implication  of  Cui, 
who  speaks  of  them  as  objects  annexed  from  the  trous- 
seau of  the  Polish  master,  is  not  quite  fair,  failing,  as 
it  does,  to  take  account  of  certain  indisputable  evidences 
of  individuality. 

For  a  time  his  pianistic  talent  held  sway,  and  on  leav- 
ing the  Conservatoire  (taking  the  gold  medal  in  1892) 
he  began  a  tour  of  Europe,  which  served  to  prove  that 
the  combination  of  his  own  natural  ability  and  Safon- 
off's  instruction  had  produced  a  remarkable  virtuosity. 
Unsatisfied,  after  a  time,  with  the  life  of  a  public  per- 


294  '^    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSL\N    MUSIC. 

former,  he  returned  to  Moscow  and  accepted  the  pro- 
fessorship of  piano  then  offered  him.  In  1903  his  ab- 
sorption in  a  very  advanced  method  of  musical  creation 
dictated  his  resignation. 

In  liis  earliest  compositions  -the  Chopniesque  piano 
pieces — one  has  little  difficulty  in  discovering  an  in- 
debtedness to  a  poetic  idea  which  has  not  been  allowed 
to  intrude  to  the  extent  rendering  necessary  an  avowal 
of  programme.  In  the  piano  concerto — composed  m 
1897  and  produced  at  St.  Petersburg  in  the  following 
}ear — the  andante  and  variations  of  which  are  based 
on  a  theme  which  occurred  to  him  when  cnly  twelve 
years  of  age,  there  are  few^  signs  of  anything  in  the 
nature  of  programmatic  significance,  while  in  the  first 
symphony  (in  E  major)  if  the  hymn  of  praise,  apotheo- 
sising  art  and  religion,  which  constitutes  the  choral 
finale  is  to  be  considered  as  a  hint  of  coming  develop- 
ments, there  is  nothing  conspicuous,  so  far  as  style  is 
concerned,  be}'ond  the  fairl}'  plain  testimony  to  ^^'ag- 
nrrian  influence. 

In  the  "  Poeme  Satanique,"  for  piano,  we  hear  echoes 
of  the  manner  of  Liszt.  The  second  s)-mphony,  how- 
ever, was  devoted  to  a  definite  idea  and  the  foundation 
of  its  abstract  programme^the  development  of  ps}chic 
individuality— synchronised  very  appropriately  with 
the  beginning  of  the  composer's  true  self-realisation. 
Here  is  to  be  remarked  a  stylistic  transformation  which 
definitely  anticipates  the  psychological  basis  as  well 
as  the  technical  manner  of  subsequent  works.  The 
third  symphony  embarks  on  a  discussion  of  the  faculty 
of  art-creation.  It  is  in  three  movements,  entitled 
respectively:  "Strife,"  "Sensuous  Joys"  and  "Divine 
Activity." 


THE  HARMONIC   SCALE.  295 

It  IS  supposed  that  it  was  whilst  occupied  with  the 
composition  of  his  succeeding  work,  "  The  Poem  of 
Ecstasy,"  that  Scriabin  first  perceived  the  resemblance 
between  certain  colour  and  sound  combinations  from 
which  partly  sprang  the  conception  of  the  later  "Poem 
of  Fire."  It  contains,  moreover,  the  germ  of  the 
harmonic  idea  of  the  last  mentioned.  But  in  the 
"  Poem  of  Ecstasy"  he  seems  to  have  been  chiefly  occu- 
pied with  the  question  of  the  musical  reflection  of 
thought  and  feeling.  In  reference  to  this  Mrs.  New- 
march's  veiled  implication  that  the  composer's  printed 
demands  are  rather  in  excess  of  the  degrees  of  emo- 
tional sensibility  to  be  discovered  among  the  units  of 
an  orchestra  is  irresistible,  though  perhaps  now^  out  of 
date. 

In  "  Prometheus  "  Scriabin  has  arrived  at  a  full  de- 
velopment of  the  harmonic  scale  system  of  harmonisa- 
tion.  This  he  now  definitely  allies  with  the  musical 
enunciation  of  theosophical  principles,  together  with 
an  avowed  belief  in  an  affinity  existing  between  sound 
and  colour.  As  to  the  first  idea,  we  see  nothing  in 
it  more  startling  than  Debussy's  exploitation  of  the* 
tonal  scale,  which  he  felt  best  suited  to  express  his  own 
feelings — feelings  which  pertained  in  reality  to  the  soul 
of  intellectual  France  at  the  //;/  de  s'lccle — a  period 
plainly  reflected  in  his  music.  That  every  sensitive 
musician  recognises  a  vague  resemblance  between  colour 
and  harmonic  schemes  is  a  commonplace,  the  truth  of 
which  is  denied  alone  by  those  whom  we  should  never 
dream  of  crediting  with  such  sensitiveness.  The  major- 
ity of  musicians,  it  is  true,  are  as  chary  of  com- 
mitting themselves  to  any  downright  statement  touch- 
ing upon  the  scheme  followed  by  their  expression  of 


296  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

sound  m  terms  of  colour,  or  vice  versa,  as  at  one  time 
they  would  have  been  of  publishing  an  experimental 
departure  from  the  approved  diatonic  scale.  Scriabin 
has  had  the  temerity  to  associate  himself  with  a  belief 
in  both,  and,  into  the  bargain,  has  come  forward  as  a 
twentieth  century  apostle  of  Wagner  and  Strauss  by 
investing  his  music — and  thus  proclaiming  his  satisfac- 
tion with  its  efficacy  as  a  medium — with  an  ethical 
message. 

To  deliver  judgment  on  the  result  is  for  the  moment 
hardly  wise,  because  while  the  theosophical  content  of 
the  work  may  conceivably  have  touched  a  responsive 
chord  in  those  who  are  conversant  with  and  sensible  to 
the  teachings  of  that  faith,  the  musical  idiom  is  for  the 
present  so  novel  and  so  inseparable  from  the  "pro- 
gramme "of  the  work  that  it  behoves  those  who  are  out- 
side the  radius  of  its  influence  to  keep  silence,  at  least 
until  the  musical  manner  has  become  sufficiently  fami- 
liar to  make  an  intellectual  appeal. 

"Prometheus,"  produced  early  in  19 11,  at  Moscow, 
has  a  programme  not  altogether  unrelated  to  the  ethical 
•lesson  of  Wagner's  "  Ring."  Essentially,  it  is  in  ac- 
cord with  the  canons  of  theosophy.  It  suggests  in 
poetic  terms  that  human  creative  power  is  the  comple- 
mentary faculty  in  mankind,  that  this  power  has  possi- 
bilities of  evil  as  well  as  of  good.  Technically,  the 
novelty  of  the  work  consists  in  its  structure  being  con- 
fined to  the  harmonic  scale.  Scriabin  has  used  a  very 
large  orchestra  which  includes  eight  horns,  five  trum- 
pets, an  extensive  "  percussion  "  group,  celesta  and  harp, 
and  is  reinforced  by  the  organ.  The  solo  piano  part 
is  given  the  programmatic  role  of  the  human  indi- 
vidual ;  the  orchestra   is  occupied   in  enumerating  the 


COLOUR-MUSIC.  297 

influences  bearing  on  mankind.  But  this  does  not  ex- 
haust the  full  instrumental  catalogue,  for  Scriabin  has 
designed  a  separate  part  for  a  colour  instrument,  dedi- 
cated to  the  function  of  making  a  colour-commentary 
upon  the  harmonic  occurrences  :  thus  we  are  told  that 
"  the  characteristic  mystical  chord  " — the  ninth  with  the 
augmented  fifth — will  be  accompanied  by  a  comple- 
mentary bluish-lilac  haze. 

Nor  is  the  end  here,  for  "  Prometheus,"  which  no 
longer  excites  discussion  in  Russia,  is  to  be  succeeded 
by  a  more  daring  experiment.  In  a  work  now  in  pro- 
cess of  design — called  a  "mystery" — Scriabin  has  the 
intention  of  using  every  available  means  of  appealing 
to  the  emotional  sensibilities.  The  dance  and  perfume 
are  to  be  called  upon  to  reinforce  tone  and  colour,  with 
the  object  of  producing  the  fullest  possible  effect  upon 
the  senses  and  mind  of  the  audience,  which,  like  an  ideal 
congregation,  will,  it  is  anticipated,  be  stirred  to  a  pitch 
of  ecstasy  by  a  combined  sensuous  impulsion. 

Seeing  that  programme  music  has  survived  its  alarm- 
ing exploitation  in  the  suburban  drawing-room  of  the 
Victorian  era,  and  that  Straussian  developments  are  no 
longer  goading  the  academic  composer  into  the  per- 
petration of  ponderous  symphonies  of  ridicule,  we  may 
surely  hope  for  a  reasonable  attitude  toward  the  new 
accessorial  function  to  which  music  has  been  called  by 
Scriabin.  After  all  there  is  nothing  very  novel  about 
the  effect  either  of  music,  perfume  or  colour  upon  the 
mind,  and  if  the  deliberate  combination  of  these  sense- 
excitements  should  prove  a  social  danger,  that  in  itself 
would  be  the  best  possible  proof  of  its  success. 

In  his  piano  sonatas  Scriabin's  development  is  to  be 
followed  more  or  less  closely.      The  fifth,  sixth  and 


jgS  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

seventh  works  in  this  form,  Op.  53,  62  and  64,  provide 
ample  substance  m  which  to  study  the  elaboration  of 
liis  harmonic  scheme.  In  the  first-named,  the  composer 
is  apparently  experimenting  (it  was  written  prior  to 
"  Prometheus  "),  but  an  analysis  of  the  others  reveals 
that  he  had  then  decided  upon  tlie  serviceableness  of 
his  medium.     Tie  has  now  written,  in  all,  ten  sonatas. 

Scriabin's  one  tiny  contribution  to  the  literature  of 
string  chamber  music — his  variation  on  the  popular 
Russian  theme  treated  by  a  number  of  composers  in  col- 
laboration's liable  to  be  forgotten  in  the  stir  he  is 
creating  in  the  domains  of  orchestral  and  piano  music. 
In  any  case  it  is  a  document  of  no  great  value  to  the 
historian  or  the  musician— it  is  not  even  the  sole  in- 
stance of  his  employment  of  the  diatonic  scale. 


IV. 

VASSILENKO   AND   GRECHANINOFF. 

OF  Sergius  Vassilenko  nothing,  we  believe,  has  been 
heard  in  England  beyond  his  comparatively 
mature  work,  the  suite  entitled  "  Au  Soleil,"  and  one 
or  two  songs.  In  the  former  we  are  able  to  see  how- 
far-reaching  has  been  the  effect  of  French  influence  on 
some  Russian  composers.  The  hnpressionistic  move- 
ment may  almost  be  likened  to  the  Napoleonic.  It  has 
certainly  been  the  cause  of  considerable  damage  to  the 
musico-nationalistic  Kremlin-— the  folk-song  style. 
While  that  is  not  perhaps  a  subject  for  unreserved  re- 
gret, it  is  a  pity  that  the  native  manner,  originating  in 
the  combined  employment  of  folk  rhythms  and  popular 
legends,  should  be  blotted  out  by  something  which  has 
in  reality  a  deal  of  the  Latin  and  nothing  of  the  Slav 
about  its  character. 

\'assilenko  was  born  at  Moscow  in  1872,  entered  the 
Conservatoire  in  1896  and  after  five  years'  work  under 
Taneieff  and  Ippolitcff-Ivanoff,  wrote  a  cantata,  for 
which  he  was  awarded  the  gold  medal.  The  work  was 
shortly  afterwards  re-cast  and  produced  in  Moscow  as 


300  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

an  opera.  The  choice  of  its  subject,  identical  with  tiiat 
of  Rimsky-Korsakoff' s  "  Kitej,"  would  have  been  a 
satisfactory  sign  of  faith  in  a  composer  brought  up 
under  the  wing  of  any  member  of  the  Koutchka.  In 
Cheshikin's  opinion  the  choice  itself  testifies  to  Vas- 
silenko's  quite  laudable  sympathy  with  Korsakoff,  but 
the  historian  notices  a  musical  resemblance  between  the 
works,  which  is  just  a  little  too  marked.  If  it  be  at  all 
true,  the  allegation  that  Vassilenko's  early  works  arc 
"  talented  echoes  of  Korsakoff,  Borodin  and  Moussorg- 
sky,"  suggests  that  in  them  the  present  eclecticism,  as 
well  as  the  Tchaikovskian  m_anner  of  expression,  must 
have  been  hardly  noticeable. 

In  his  epic  poem  for  orchestra.  Op.  4,  he  exhibited  a 
taste  and  a  talent  for  mediaevalism  which  received  sup- 
port from  a  profound  knowledge  of  modal  and  church 
music,  but  his  later  works — they  include  "  The  Whirl- 
pool "  and  "  The  Widow  "  (both  ''  poems  "  for  bass  voice 
and  orchestra)  and  a  symphony  in  G  minor — are  cited 
as  evidence  of  restlessness  subsequently  confirmed  by 
the  style  of  his  symphonic  poem  based  on  Wilde's 
"  Garden  of  Death,"  in  which  he  altogether  relinquished 
his  earlier  manner. 

In  "Au  Soleil,"  far  from  showing  any  signs  of  dis- 
comfort consequent  on  the  adoption  of  a  foreign  idiom, 
he  appears  to  be  thoroughly  at  home,  and  the  music 
warms  his  picture  into  life  just  as  the  sun  vitalises  the 
insects  in  that  picture — endowing  them  with  movement 
by  its  life-giving  rays.  The  aim  and  die  achievement 
both  recall  Albert  Roussel's  '*  Festin  d'Arraignee." 

Two  new  symphonic  works  are  announced  as  having 
been  successfully  performed  in  Paris  and  Moscow. 

In  his  studies  Alexander  Tikhonovich  Grechaninoff 


GRECHAXIXOFF.  3OI 

reversed  the  order  pursued  by  Rachmaninoff.  He  was 
born  on  October  13,  1864,  in  Moscow.  Having  estab- 
lished a  claim  to  the  consideration  of  local  musical 
society  by  following  Safonoff's  piano  course  at  the  con- 
servatoire, he  transferred  his  attention  in  1890  to  the 
ri\'al  establishment  at  St.  Petersburg,  where  he  became 
a  pupil  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff.  His  studies  completed, 
he  composed  a  quartet  which  in  the  following  year 
gained  the  prize  offered  by  the  St.  Petersburg  Chamber- 
Music  Society.  Although  he  excels  in  the  composition 
of  sacred  music,  it  is  by  his  songs  and  his  two  quartets 
(the  second  is  numbered  Op.  14)  that  he  has  come  to  be 
known  outside  Russia.  In  his  later  vocal  specimens  he 
inclines  at  times  to  what  may  best  be  described  as  an 
advanced  Schumannesque  style,  at  others  to  the  more 
delicate  and  sometimes  mystical  manner  of  Borodin. 

As  a  dramatic  composer  he  has  been  fairly  industri- 
ous, and  has  written  incidental  music  to  Ostrcvsky's 
"  Snow-Maiden  "  and  to  the  first  two  sections  of  Alexis 
Tolstoi's  dramatic  trilogy,  "  The  Death  of  Ivan  the  Ter- 
rible," "Czar  Feodor"  and  "Czar  Boris."  Respecting 
the  first-named,  Cheshikin  avers  that  it  was  written 
while  the  composer  was  under  the  influence  of  Rimsky- 
Korsakoff,  a  suggestion  to  which  colour  is  certainly  lent 
by  its  subject,  but  the  chiding  given  Grechaninoff  by 
Lipaeff,  another  critic,  who  complains  of  the  lack  of  ori- 
ginality— a  quality  elsewhere  sufficientl}^  noticeable — 
displayed  in  the  choice  of  literary  material  already  em- 
ployed by  two  great  composers  (Tchaikovsky  was,  of 
course,  the  other),  seems  undeserved,  if  the  precedent  of 
"Faust"  is  of  any  importance. 

Grechaninoff  has  written  two  operas.  The  first,  called 


302  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

"  Dobrinya  Xikitich,"  is  drawn  from  the  Kieff  cycle,  in 
which  the  hero,  whose  name  supplies  the  title,  figures 
along  with  "Ilya  Mourometz" — the  subject  of  Gliere's 
symphonic  suite — and  "  Aleosha  Popovich,"  the  princi- 
pal personage  in  Alexander  Taneieff's  opera.  This  was 
produced  at  St.  Petersburg  in  1903.  The  circumstances 
attending  the  recent  production  of  his  new  opera 
at  Moscow  (based  on  ^laeterlinck's  poem,  "  Sister 
Beatrice  ")  have  created  something  of  a  stir.  This  work 
had  only  been  performed  four  times— with  considerable 
success — when  it  was  banned,  on  the  score  of  its  involv- 
ing the  stage  impersonation  of  the  Ploly  \'irgin.  This 
echoes  the  assertion  lately  penned  in  an  article  on  Rus- 
sia, that  "you  may  be  pious,"  within  that  Empire's  con- 
fines, "but  you  must  not  go  too  far." 

Grechanmoff  has  published  two  symphonies,  Opus  6 
and  27,  but  apparently  withholds  in  manuscript  an  or- 
chestral "Elegie,"  Op.  18. 


AKIMENKO,  TCHEREPNIN  AND  REBIKOFF. 

WE  have  had  occasion  more  than  once  to  refer  to 
the  extent  to  which  Russian  composers  have 
been  attracted  by  the  modern  French  movement.  When 
it  is  remembered  that  it  was  to  Russia  that  the  French 
school  owed  its  salvation  from  an  absolute  surrender  to 
the  Wagnerian  deluge  which,  in  the  'eighties  of  last  cen- 
tury, all  but  swamped  the  frail  bark  manned  by  truly 
original  musicians,  it  does  not  seem  inappropriate  that 
Russians  of  to-day  should  evince  an  anxiety  to  try  their 
pens  in  an  idiom  largely  derived  from  their  own  pro- 
genitors. 

But  the  secession  of  Feodor  Akimenko  is  the  more 
remarkable  because  he  was  reared  in  an  atmosphere  of 
Nationalism.  Born  at  Kharkoff  on  February  8,  1876, 
he  received  his  early  education  in  the  St.  Petersburg 
Imperial  Chapel ;  he  then  had  private  piano  lessons 
from  Balakireff  and  studied  harmony  with  Liadoff. 
Later,  on  entering  the  conservatoire,  he  was  placed  in 
Rimsky-Korsakoff  s  composition  class.  If  Nationalism 
is  to  be  fostered  by  tutorial  environment,   Akimenko 

303 


304  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

should  have  outdone  any  single  one  of  his  teachers.  But 
even  in  his  earlier  works  he  does  not  show  any  particu- 
lar fancy  for  the  folk-melody  procedure,  although 
in  some  of  them  there  is  a  fairly  pronounced  Russian 
flavour,  and  when,  after  composing  a  goodly  number 
of  songs  and  piano  pieces,  a  "Lyric  Poem"  for  orches- 
tra, three  choruses  for  mixed  voices  (to  texts  of  A. 
Tolstoi  and  Maikoff),  various  solos  for  string  and  wind 
instruments,  a  string  trio  and  a  piano  and  violin  son- 
ata, he  left  his  native  land  and  journeyed  via  Switzer- 
land to  Paris,  he  became  a  thorough  devotee  of 
Impressionism — as  indeed  the  titles  of  his  later  works 
bear  witness.  To  those  who  are  not  inclined  to  accept 
their  mere  names  as  conclusive  evidence  as  to  their  style, 
a  perusal  of  the  "Pages  de  Pcesie  Fantasque,"  Op.  43 
(for  piano),  will  suffice  to  present  the  composer's  later 
manner.  The  pieces,  Op.  41,  "In  the  Gardens  of  the 
Luxembourg"  and  "Under  the  Arches  of  Notre  Dame," 
suggest  that  Akimenko  forgot  for  a  time  such  inspira- 
tional territory  as  the  works  of  Tolstoi  and  Maikoff. 
His  latest  compositions  are  chiefly  for  piano  and  include 
a  "  Sonate  Fantastique,"  but  one  act  of  an  opera,  as  yet 
unpublished,  "  The  Queen  of  the  Alps,"  has  been  given 
a  concert  performance  at  Kharkoff,  and  he  has  been  at 
work  upon  a  ballet.  For  both  of  these  the  libretto  has 
been  supplied  by  Mr.  Calvocoressi. 

Tcherepnin,  whose  name  has  been  familiari^^ed  by  the 
popularity  of  his  two  ballets,  "Le  Pavilion  d'Armide" 
and  "  Narcisse,"  has  been  called  "  an  eclectic  in  the  best 
sense."  To  understand  what  is  here  implied  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  glance  at  a  list  of  the  composer's  works,  for 
they  reveal  a  considerable  breadth  of  outlook  in  the 
choice  of  subject.     One  of  his  first  compositions  is  an 


TCHEREPNIN.  305 

overture  to  the  "  Princesse  Lointaine  "  of  Rostand.  The 
"Dramatic  Fantasia,"  Op.  17,  for  orchestra,  is  inspired 
by  a  poem  of  Tioutcheff,  a  compatriot,  who  has  written 
verses  on  Nature  as  seen  in  Russia,  which  are  so  highly 
praised  by  a  biographer  that  the  latter's  subsequent  use 
of  the  epithet  occidental  to  describe  the  poet — on  the 
score  of  his  knowledge  and  taste  for  the  French  lan- 
guage— seems  both  unfair  and  far-fetched. 

Then  there  are  the  orchestral  works  describing  the 
witches'  scene  in  "  Macbeth,"  the  ballet,  "  Le  Pavilion 
d'Armide,"  which  deals  with  the  period  of  Louis  XIV, 
and  "  Narcisse,"  which,  together  with  the  song,  "  Mena- 
ceus,"  reveals  an  insight  into  and  a  sympathy  with 
classical  folk-lore.  We  may  note  also  that  one  of  the 
"sketches"  for  piano.  Op.  38,  is  entitled  "  Baba  Yaga," 
which  suggests  that  the  composer's  eclecticism  is  of  the 
kind  that  fulfils  all  obligations  by  beginning  at  home. 

Nicholas  Tcherepnin  was  born  in  1873.  ^^^  aban- 
doned his  studies  for  the  legal  profession — at  St. 
Petersburg  University — to  become  a  pupil  of  Rimsky- 
Korsakoff.  He  has  an  individual  style  which  adapts 
itself  easily  to  the  demand  of  its  possessor's  versa- 
tility. 

Vladimir  Rebikoff,  born  on  May  16,  1866,  at  Kras- 
noyarsk, in  Siberia,  stands  on  a  lower  plane  than  Scria- 
bin,  but  invites  comparison  with  the  latter  in  one  respect. 
He  also  is  addicted  to  the  suggestion  of  soul-states  in 
music  and  does  not  stop  at  the  smaller  forms,  such  as 
his  "  Musical  Psychological  Sketches,"  for  piano 
("Slavery  and  Freedom"  is  one  of  the  titles  in  the 
series  Op.  13),  but  gives  the  same  adjectival  qualifica- 
tion to  his  one-act  opera,  "The  Christmas  Tree,"  in 
which  the  pleasures  of  the  wealthy  are  contrasted  with 

21 


306  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

the  misery  of  the  submerged.  The  musical  substance 
of  this  work,  being  physically  founded  on  whole-tone 
harmonies,  seems  somewhat  unsuitable  for  its  poetic 
purpose,  although,  to  judge  by  its  reception,  Moscow 
audiences  found  nothing  incongruous  in  the  combina- 
tion. Two  more  "psychological"  dramas  have  to  be 
credited  to  him,  "  Thea,"  Op.  34,  in  four  acts,  and  a  set- 
ting of  Schnitzler's  "Woman  with  the  Dagger,"  Op.  41. 
Rebikoff's  piano  pieces,  which  have  become  pretty  well 
known  in  England  and  France,  are  largely  couched  in 
the  same  harmonic  terms. 

Psychology  as  mistress  to  the  handmaiden,  Music, 
suggests  Scriabin,  and  the  tonal  scale  Debussy,  but  it 
must  be  mentioned  that  Rebikoff  has  enlarged  the  scope 
of  musical  composition  on  his  own  account.  The 
"  melo-mimic  "  is  a  combination  of  the  scenic  and  pan- 
tomimic with  a  closely  allied  musical  accompaniment. 
In  this  form  he  has  published  the  six  "  melo-mimics  " 
or  "  mimo-drames,"  Op.  1 1,  based  on  the  tale,  "  Mila  and 
Nolli,"  and  *'  Genius  and  Death."  The  latter  has  been 
well  received  in  Russia  and  is  described  as  deriving  a 
good  deal  of  help — as  one  would  imagine  more  likely 
than  in  "  The  Christmas  Tree  " — from  the  esoteric  qual- 
ity of  the  music.  Rebikoff  has  also  written  an  opera  in 
two  acts,  "  The  Storm,"  produced  at  Odessa  during  his 
residence  there  (1894). 

He  was  a  pupil  of  ^liihler  m  Berlin,  and  Jaksch  in 
Vienna.  In  1898  he  founded  a  branch  of  the  Imperial 
Musical  Society  at  Kishineff,  but  has  since  given  up  all 
administrative  in  order  to  devote  himself  entirely  to 
creative  work. 


VI. 

STELXBERG,    ^lEDTXER   AND    CATOIRE. 

TWO  musicians  whose,  output  owes  nothing  to  such 
sources  of  programmatic  foundation  as  s}'mbol- 
ism  and  impressionism,  and  is  free  from  both  nation- 
ahstic  import  and  Eastern  flavour,  and  who  are  thus 
ahke  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  Russian  school,  are 
Steinberg  and  ]\Iedtner. 

^laximihan  Steinberg  was  born  in  1883.  One  would 
liardly  imagine  that  a  pupil  of  Rimsky-Kcrsakoff,  who 
was  on  such  terms  with  the  distinguished  teacher  as 
marriage  into  his  immediate  family  would  suggest, 
would  betray  so  slight  a  stylistic  resemblance  or  so 
small  a  similarity  of  aim.  Steinberg's  music  seems 
even  to  outdo  that  of  his  second  teacher,  Glazounoff,  in 
its  close  adherence  to  orthodoxy.  As  one  might  sup- 
pose, a  pupil  of  such  thorough  craftsmen  is  endowed 
with  a  flne  technique,  and  this  Steinberg  displays 
in  his  earliest  works.  The  Quartet,  Op.  5,  is  quite 
a  masterly  effort,  but  savours  rather  more  of  the 
pedagogue  than  of  the  inspired  musician.  It  is  exceed- 
ingly well  written  for  the  instruments  .but  never  rises 

307 


308  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

above  the  level  of  technical  perfection.  Report  speaks 
well  of  his  second  symphony  in  B  minor  and  of  some 
songs. 

Nicholas  Medtner,  who  resembles  Steinberg  in  the 
negative  direction  cited,  has  nothing  in  common  with 
him  beyond  the  implied  adherence  to  academicism.  In 
Medtner  we  hnd  traditional  methods  allied  with  and 
enhanced  by  a  genuine  inspiration  which  is  of  the  most 
refined  quality.  One  feels  that  he  enjoys  his  music 
as  he  writes  it.  He  has  all  the  rhythmic  ingenuity  of 
Brahms,  some  quite  individual  harmonic  thoughts,  an 
nnpeccable  taste  and  abundant  enthusiasm.  But  he 
has  so  far  confined  his  output  to  the  domain  of  cham- 
ber-music, and  as  that  branch  of  the  art  has  not  yet  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  itself  with  the  public  as  the 
most  aristocratic,  and  is  still  regarded  as  Cinderella, 
his  reputation  up  to  the  present  has  not  been  far- 
reaching. 

Medtner,  as  his  name  suggests,  is  the  child  of  Ger- 
man parents.  He  was  born  in  ^Moscow  on  December 
24,  1879,  and  began  his  musical  education  at  the  Con- 
servatoire at  the  age  of  twelve.  After  a  long  course 
of  study  with  Safonoff  he  wound  up  his  career  as  a 
student  by  carrying  off  the  gold  medal,  and  in  the  same 
year  (1900),  he  obtained  first  honours  in  the  Rubinstein 
competition  at  Vienna.  After  distinguishing  himself 
as  pianist  in  many  European  musical  centres,  he  was 
appointed  in  1902  to  a  professorship  in  the  Moscow  Con- 
servatoire, but  gave  up  this  post  after  one  year's  re- 
tention in  order  to  apply  himself  exclusively  to  com- 
position. Most  of  his  published  works  are  for  piano. 
The  style  of  his  first  sonata  is  as  close  as  possible  to 
that  of  Brahms,  so  close,  in  fact,  that  one  might  easily 


CATOIRE.  309 

imag-ine  the  similarity  of  opus  number  and  key  (Opus 
5,  in  F  minor)  between  this  work  and  one  in  the  same 
form  by  the  German  master  to  have  been  prompted  by 
feehngs  of  admiration  and  a  desire  for  emulation. 
Medtner  has  not  allowed  himself  to  be  fettered  by  form- 
alistic  considerations,  and  the  work  quoted  is  the  only 
sonata  of  six  in  which  he  preserves  the  traditional  divi- 
sion into  movements.  Excepted  is  the  very  charming 
example  for  piano  and  violin,  Op.  21,  in  B  minor,  the 
three  sections  of  which  arc  named  respectively  "  Can- 
zona,"  "Danza"  and  "Ditirambo."  For  these  instru- 
ments he  has  also  written  a  beautiful  series  of  three  noc- 
turnes which  deserve  to  be  heard  much  oftener. 

The  title  "  Dithyramb  "  is  one  of  four  very  much  fav- 
oured by  the  composer,  several  pieces  being  given  the 
respective  descriptions  of  "  Marchen,"  "Novellen"  and 
"  Tragoedie-Fragment."  A  large  number  of  fine  songs 
stand  to  his  credit,  the  texts  being  from  such  poets  as 
Goethe,  Heine  and  Nietzsche. 

Isolated  in  a  sense  is  Catoire,  who  betrays  his  origin 
as  clearly  in  his  music  as  by  his  name.  Here  also  is  a 
French  tendency,  but  one  which  causes  us  to  inquire 
into  the  composer's  age,  for  it  belongs  rather  to  the 
period  when  Faure  was  in  the  forefront  than  to  that  of 
the  out-and-out  impressionists. 

George  Catoire  was  born  in  Moscow  on  April  27, 
1 86 1.  Whilst  following  the  university  mathematical 
course  in  Berlin,  he  studied  music  under  Klindworth 
and  Willborg.  Later  he  became  a  pupil  of  Liadoff  in 
St.  Petersburg,  and  his  early  work  indicates  that  if  he 
owes  his  technical  proficiency  to  his  first  teachers,  his 
tastes  were  influenced  by  the  St.  Petersburg  environ- 
ment.    The  symphonic  poem,  '' Mtsyri "  (Op.  13),  takes 


310  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

the  work  of  Lermontoff  as  its  theme,  and  in  his  can- 
tata, "  Russalka,"  he  again  turns  to  this  poet.  Other 
compositions  belonging  to  the  first  period  are  a  C  minor 
Symphony,  Op.  7,  a  Trio,  Op.  14,  some  piano  pieces  and 
songs,  three  poems  of  Tioutcheff,  set  for  female  chorus 
and  piano  (Op.  18)  and  three  mo;'e  for  vocal  solo.  His 
later  instrumental  works  include  a  fine  string  Quintet 
(Op.  16),  four  Preludes  for  piano  (Op.  17),  a  "  Poeme  " 
sonata  for  piano  and  violin  (Op.  20')  in  D,  and  a  piano 
Concerto  (Op.  21). 

Catoirc  is  resident  m  ^loscow. 


SIRAVINSKY. 

II  has  been  argued  tliat  the  searching  lest  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  Xationahsm — so  far  as  concerns  the  incor- 
poration of  folk-tunes  in  the  music  of  a  given  country 
or  race — comes  when,  in  the  second  generation,  the  prac- 
tice of  emplo}'ing  the  m.elodies  themselves  gives  way 
to  that  rhythmic  manner  and  character  which,  it  is  held, 
should  be  born  of  the  union  between  folk  and  art  music. 
In  Russia,  despite  the  ver\-  special  encouragement  given 
to  this  method  of  cultivating  a  national  manner,  there 
are  singularly  few  evidences  of  the  existence,  at  the 
present  time,  of  the  confidently  anticipated  offspring — 
a  child,  to  continue  the  metaphor,  expected  to  prove 
virile  and  healthy. 

It  IS  perhaps  because  Igor  Stravinsky  belongs  also 
to  the  second  musical  generation  in  the  actual  sense — 
he  is  the  son  of  a  musician — that  it  has  fallen  to  his 
lot  to  keep  alive  a  race  which,  but  for  him,  might  easily 
have  become  extinct.  W'e  have  seen  that  the  Russian 
school,  at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century,  is  re- 
presented b\'  composers  who  have  gone  to  France, 
Germany,  Belgium  and  England  for  literary  material, 
to  the  whole-tone  scale  as  a  medium  in  which  to  express 
that  mysticism  which,  it  has  been  argued,  is  in  reality 

3n 


312  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

as  much  Russian  as  foreign,  and  merits  all  the  more, 
therefore,  one  would  suppose,  a  purely  national  mode 
of  expression,  to  the  "harmonic"  scale  as  a  suitable 
musical  robe  in  which  to  officiate  at  the  altar  of  theo- 
sophy  and  finally  to  Germany,  as  in  the  case  of  some 
who  appear  altogether  indifferent  to  the  claims  of 
nationality,  not  only  for  technique  but  for  the  renewal 
of  their  attenuated  store  of  inventive  ideas  at  the  fount 
of  tradition ! 

A  native  tendency  to  preserve  a  national  character  in 
his  music  and  a  very  firm  intention  of  passing  beyond 
the  boundaries  so  jealously  guarded  by  the  academics, 
who,  like  the  rich,  are  always  with  us  and  are  continu- 
ally threatening  to  "  corner  "  progress,  are  alike  observ- 
able in  Stravinsky.  We  have,  moreover,  to  observe  that 
the  practice  of  drawing  upon  national  subjects  has  not 
resulted  in  any  noticeable  exhaustion  either  of  his  own 
inspiration  or  of  the  stock  of  literary  material  to  be 
culled  from  that  source.  It  cannot  be  said  that  Stravin- 
sky has  removed  all  tangible  traces  of  the  original  folk- 
song from  his  music;  he  has  actually  made  use  of  com- 
plete examples.  But  this  does  not  detract  from  the 
value  of  his  work  as  an  example  of  how  a  national 
manner  may  pass  from  the  primitive  to  the  secondary 
stage  without  in  the  least  hampering  the  development 
or  impeding  the  inspiration  of  the  composer.  For  this 
reason  we  select  him — a  composer  who  has  come  to  be 
regarded  as  the  hope  of  Russian  musical  Nationalism 
— as  the  final  figure  in  this  volume. 

Igor  Fedorovich  Stravinsky  was  born  at  Oranienbaum 
on  June  5,  1882.  He  is  the  son  of  Fedor  Ignatievich 
Stravinsky,  the  celebrated  singer  associated  with 
the  Imperial   (Maryinsky)  Theatre  in  St.   Petersburg. 


STRAVINSKY'S   EARLY   WORKS.  313 

At  the  age  of  nine  the  boy  was  already  giving  proofs 
of  natural  musicianship  and  showed  a  particular  apti- 
tude for  piano  playing,  to  the  study  of  which  he  de- 
voted himself  for  a  long  time.  In  1902,  while  travel- 
ling abroad,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  fall  in  with 
Rimsky-Korsakoff,  and  this  meeting  marks  an  epoch  in 
his  life.  He  began  a  course  of  study  with  the  eminent 
professor,  and  although  their  views  on  the  sphere  of  the 
art  of  music  did  net  always  coincide,  the  pupil  made 
good  use  of  his  opportunities  and  perfected  himself 
rapidly  in  the  technique  of  composition.  His  first 
essay  was  a  symphony,  composed  in  1907,  which  has 
never  been  published,  but  is  now,  it  appears,  to  be 
rescued  from  obscurity  by  public  performance  in 
Switzerland.  This  was  followed  by  a  vocal  suite  with 
piano  accompaniment  to  the  text  of  Pushkin's  "  Faun 
and  Shepherdess."  In  1908  came  the  "  Scherzo  Fan- 
tastique"  for  orchestra,  the  symphonic  fantasia,  "Fire- 
works," which,  by  a  curious  freak  of  artistic  judgment, 
has  been  submitted  for  the  approval  of  an  English 
manufacturer  of  Chinese  crackers,  a  work  in  memory  of 
Rimsky-Korsakoff  (written  on  the  death  of  his  master), 
the  four  strange  piano-studies  which  foreshadow  the 
coming  harmonic  individuality,  and  three  songs,  one 
of  which  is  the  favourite  "  Pastorale."  In  1909  he  wrote 
the  work  which,  at  the  moment  of  writing,  is  promised 
for  performance  during  the  projected  season  of  Rus- 
sian opera  in  London.  This  is  in  a  revised  fonn  and 
takes  shape  as  a  combination  of  opera  and  ballet. 
It  is  based  on  Hans  Andersen's  fairy-tale,  '*  The  Night- 
ingale." The  two  succeeding  years  saw  the  production 
of  works  which  have  made  Stravinsky  famous.  The 
ballet,  "The  Firebird,"  has   for  its  "plot"  a  legend 


314  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

which  introduces  once  more  to  our  notice  the  charac- 
ters of  Rimsky-Korsakoff's  "  Koshchei,"  and  once  again 
we  see  the  beautiful  Tsarevna  rescued  from  her  hideous 
captor  through  Ivan's  fortunate  discovery  of  Kcshchei's 
"  death."  In  the  music  there  is  nothing  of  the  so-called 
"  anarchistic  "  tenclenc}-  which  is  to  be  found  in  his  later 
work.  An  individuality  of  expression,  a  wonderful 
charm  of  manner  and  a  complete  sureness  in  technique 
are  its  principal  features.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  com- 
poser shows  a  complete  grasp  of  the  possibilities  of  de- 
picting the  movement  of  life,  both  physical  and  psycho- 
logical, in  music.  "  The  Firebird "  was  produced  in 
Paris  in  19 10.  The  second  of  the  works  dating  from 
1910-11  IS  another  ballet,  "  Petroushka."  Hearing  this 
work  one  begins  to  understand  that  one  is  dealing  with 
a  composer  whose  horror  of  an3'thing  in  the  nature 
of  cliche  is  adequately  supported  by  his  spontaneity  of 
invention;  he  has  chosen  a  subject  which  might  well 
have  been  vulgarised  by  its  treatment  in  a  vein  of  pon- 
derous humour.  Instead,  we  have  something  savouring 
of  the  delicate  irony  of  Ravel  and  of  Anatole  France. 
"  Petroushka "  (a  blended  counterpart  of  the  English 
"  Punch  "  and  the  Russian  "  Durak  ")  is  a  story  of  love 
and  hate  in  that  fanciful  domain  m  which  we  become 
aware  of  the  existence  of  a  soul  hitherto  considered 
absent  from  such  a  corporeal  habitation.  The  scene 
is  a  carnival,  and,  among  the  mingled  crowd  of 
ro}'sterers  and  mountebanks,  a  showman,  practised  in 
the  "  black  art,"  has  erected  his  booth.  In  it  are  three 
animated  dolls  :  the  dance,  "  with  the  pinkest  of  waxen 
checks  and  the  glassiest  of  stares,"  is  flanked  by  a 
fierce  blackamoor  and  the  simple  fool  Petroushka. 
These  three  enact  a  tragedy  of  jealousy  which  termin- 


"  PETROUSHKA."  315 

ates  in  the  shedding-  of  Petroiishka's  vital  sawdust.  This 
ballet  IS,  properly  speaking,  a  travesty  of  human  pas- 
sion expressed  in  terms  of  puppet  gestures  and  illum- 
ined by  music  as  expositor.  The  carnival  music  is  a 
sheer  jo}-,  and  the  incidents  making  a  demand  upon 
music  as  a  depicti\e  medium  have  been  treated  not 
merely  with  mar\*ellous  skill  but  with  unfailing  instinct 
for  the  true  satiric  touch.  "  Petroushka  "  is,  in  fact,  the 
musical  presentment  of  Russian  fantastic  humour  in  the 
second  generation.  There  is  none  of  the  heav)-  scoring 
once  necessary  to  reveal  the  humorous  possibilities  of 
some  particular  situation ;  Stravinsk}'  lives  in  a  world 
which  has  learned  to  take  certain  things  for  granted, 
and  his  method  is  elliptical.  This  perception  of  pro- 
portion in  humour  is  one  of  the  surest  indications  of 
refinement,  and  "  Petroushka  "  not  only  testifies  to  the 
composer's  possession  of  this  quality,  but  provides  an 
assurance  that  he  has  a  technical  equipment  that  can 
hardly  betray  him.  "  Petroushka  "  was  first  given  at 
the  Chatelet  Theatre  in  Paris  in  191 1. 

The  reception  of  "  The  Crowning  of  Spring,"  com- 
posed during  the  winter  of  1912-3  and  produced  both  in 
Paris  and  London  in  the  following  spring  and  summer, 
is  fresh  in  the  minds  of  those  who  participated  in  it.  In 
this  work  Stravinsky  has  manifested  a  conviction  that, 
despite  the  prevailing  bias  in  fa\'our  of  things  as  they 
are,  music  is  an  art  which  must  progress,  and  that  its 
evolution,  like  that  of  mankind  to  whom  it  ministers,  is 
a  natural  condition  of  its  existence.  *'  The  Crowning  of 
Spring  "  has  been  described  as  the  ritual  of  an  imagin- 
ary religion,  but  there  is  a  touch  of  actuality  which  con- 
nects the  subject-matter  with  the  beliefs  of  pagan  Rus- 
sia.    It  has  two  scenes,  in  which  the  rites  devoted  to  the 


3l6  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

sun  god  Yarilo  (whom  we  remember  as  the  figure  menac- 
ing and  finally  terminating  the  existence  of  Snegou- 
rochka  in  Korsakoff's  opera)  are  celebrated.  In  setting 
this  subject  Stravinsky  has  turned  his  back  on  every- 
thing in  the  nature  of  conventional  music  and  has  given 
us  a  score  which,  at  the  first  hearing,  appears  to  confine 
itself  to  a  rhythmical  commentary  upon  the  stage  move- 
ment. In  criticising  the  work  the  mistake  was  made  of 
suggesting  that  Stravinsky's  music  had  gone  back  to  an 
elemental  stage  in  an  endeavour  to  provide  an  appropri- 
ate setting  for  the  prehistoric.  In  reality,  of  course,  the 
movement  was  forward,  in  that  music  was  used  in  a 
sphere  to  which  it  had  hitherto  been  strange.  That  is 
progress.  A  composer  who  sets  "  The  Creation  "  to  liv- 
ing music  is  just  as  progressive  as  another  who  takes 
"  The  Last  Judgment "  as  his  theme. 

As  a  writer  of  songs,  Stravinsky  has  gone  to  work  in 
much  the  same  spirit  as  that  informing  his  compositions 
for  orchestra.  The  two  songs.  Opus  6,  "  The  Cloister," 
in  which  he  makes  use  of  a  bell  effect— a  device  rendered 
familiar  by  its  use  by  Korsakoff,  Mousscrgsky,  Borodin 
and  other  Russian  composers — and  "  The  Song  of  the 
Dew,"  which  incorporates  the  traditional  flagellants' 
song,  are  by  no  means  as  striking  to  the  ear  as  the  Ver- 
laine  example,  Op.  9,  with  its  effect  of  crude  fifths;  in 
fact,  the  first-mentioned  has  a  commonplace  phrase  or 
two — an  uncommon  blemish  in  the  work  of  this  com- 
poser. The  two  Balmont  poems  and  the  three  recent 
Japanese  songs  with  small  orchestra  are  plainly  the  work 
of  a  composer  who  has  no  respect  for  the  academic  pre- 
judice. To  the  list  of  compositions  mentioned  must  be 
added  a  cantata  completed  in  1911. 


VIII. 

OPERATIC  AXr3  CON'CERT  ENTERPRISES. 

THE  regime  from  which  the  Paris  State  Opera  House 
is  now  happily  emerging  has  its  counterpart  in  the 
management  of  the  Imperial  Theatres  of  St.  Petersburg 
and  ^Moscow,  which  are  under  government  authority. 
Like  most  institutions  of  the  kind,  their  administration 
is  thoroughly  clogged  by  conservatism  and  private  pre- 
judices. To  this  is  added  the  traditional  governmental 
fear  of  enlightenment.  It  may  have  suggested  itself  to 
the  reader  that  the  banning  of  Grechaninoff's  opera, 
"  Sister  Beatrice,"  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  peculiar 
product  of  Russian  obscurantism^  seeing  that  much 
nearer  home  we  were  long  deprived  of  witnessing  operas 
in  which  biblical  personages  appear;  but  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  in  Russia  it  is  not  merely  the  imper- 
sonation of  sacred  characters  that  is  objected  to,  and 
also  that  the  mere  substitution  of  secular  names  for  such 
personages  would  not  satisfy  the  objectors  as  in  this 
country ;  it  is  that  the  diseased  mind  of  the  bureaucrat 
fears  every  manifestation  suggestive  of  freedom  of 
thought,  so  that  any  dramatic  work  which  has  in  any 

317 


3l8  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

sense  an  ethical  or  exegetical  function  is  in  danger  of 
summary  extinction.  As  an  illustration  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  recall  the  difficulties  raised  in  respect  of  "  Parsi- 
fal "  productions. 

A  very  striking  example  of  prejudice  is  the  belated 
recognition  of  ]\Ioussorgsk\''s  "  Khovanshchina."  This 
work  was  not  produced  by  the  Imperial  Theatres  until 
some  twenty  years  after  its  publication  in  the  Rimsk}'- 
Korsakoff  \ersion.  Its  presentation  at  ^loscow  took 
place  after  its  London  -performances  and  at  St.  Peters- 
burg only  a  month  or  so  before.  It  seems  odd',  too,  to 
read  of  Puccini's  "  ]\Iadame  Butterfly "  among  the 
"  novelties  "  of  last  season  at  St.  Petersburg. 

Fortunately  the  operatic  art  is  not  left  to  the  by  no 
means  tender  care  of  the  Imperial  authorities.  The 
"  private  "  operas  in  both  the  old  capital  and  the  new 
are  doing  useful  work  towards  the  encouragement  of 
progress  in  the  musico-dramatic  art  and  in  the  domain 
of  ballet.  The  private  institution  in  ^loscow,  for  in- 
stance, produced  "  Khovanshchina  "  man}-  years  ago,  and 
also  gave  the  first  performances  of  Rimsky-Kcrsakoff's 
last  opera,  "  The  Golden  Cock,"  which  was  banned  by 
the  Imperial  directorate.  That  it  has  been  at  all  possi- 
ble to  see  a  performance  of  the  same  composer's 
"  Sadko  "  in  recent  times  is  due  to  the  private  enterprise 
known  as  the  Theatre  of  Music  Drama  in  St.  Petersburg. 
It  has  also  fallen  to  the  lot  of  Mr.  Zimin,  who  presides 
over  the  destinies  of  the  Moscow  private  concern  (the 
Solodovnikoff  Theatre)  to  mount  both  "^Nllada"  and 
"  Czar  Saltan." 

When  we  inquire  into  the  state  of  popular  taste  in  the 
sphere  of  opera,  we  meet  with  very  positive  evidence  of 
the  popularity  of  Tchaikovsky's  music.     Both  at  the 


OPERA   L\    THE   CAPITALS.  jig 

Imperial  Theatre  and  at  Zimin's  establishment,  his 
operas  are  recognised  as  being  the  best  "  draw,"  and  in 
response  to  demand  they  (and  his  ballets  also)  have 
been  given  more  often  than  those  of  any  other  composer. 
Rimsky-Korsakoff  follows  closely  behind.  Two  of 
Rubinstein's  operas  have  been  recently  revived,  but  were 
pronounced  inept.  What  strikes  one  as  exceedingly 
strange  and  a  little  melancholy  is,  that  apart  from  the 
two  composers  first  mentioned,  there  were  one  hundred 
and  thirty-three  performances  of  foreign  operas  to 
thirt}'-one  native.  This  may  be  due  to  the  scarcity  of 
new  works  by  living  composers;  on  the  other  hand,  and 
what  is  more  probable,  it  may  be  the  cause  of  it. 

A  different  state  of  things  prevails  in  the  "  Popular  " 
theatres  of  St.  Petersburg  and  ^Moscow,  institutions  dc-' 
signed  for  the  purpose  of  cultivating  musical  taste 
among  the  masses — an  enterprise  which  succeeds  better 
than  when  attempted  among  the  aristocracy.  At  these 
establishments  the  demand  for  native  opera  is  larger, 
and  the  supply  of  Russian  and  foreign  works  has  been 
in  exactly  the  same  proportion. 

No  account  of  Russian  concert  undertakings  would  be 
complete  without  a  special  reference  to  the  work  of 
M.  P.  Belaieff,  wdiose  name  has  occurred  with  sufficient 
frequency  in  this  volume  and  in  such  connection  as  to 
suggest  the  breadth  of  his  injduence  in  Russian  musical 
affairs. 

Mitrophan  Petrovich  Belaieff  was  born  on  February 
22,  1836,  at  St.  Petersburg.  He  received  a  good  musical 
education,  and  even  as  a  child  was  attracted  to  chamber- 
music,  but  it  was  not  until  he  was  nearly  fifty  years  of 
age  that  he  retired  from  the  timber  concern  inherited 
from  his  father — exchanging  proprietorship  for  the  less 


320  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

burdensome  role  of  shareholder — and  devoted  himself 
exclusively  to  music.  He  died  on  January  lO,  1904, 
leaving  a  number  of  endowed  musical  institutions  as  a 
monument  of  his  activity  and  benevolence. 

Among  them  are  the  Russian  symphony  concerts  and 
chamber -music  evenings.  These  are  run  by  an  advisory 
committee,  consisting  of  three  musicians  qualified  to 
exercise  a  wise  selection  of  music.  The  first  members  of 
this  triumvirate  were  Korsakoff,  Liadoff  and  Glazounoff. 
Wihtol,  Ossovsky  and  Pogojeff  are  the  present  officials 
with  Artcibousheff  as  chairman. 

The  extent  to  which  Russian  music  benefits  by  the  pro- 
vision of  this  Maecenas  is  best  to  be  estimated  by  an 
enumeration  of  the  several  objects  of  his  legacy.  The 
"  Belaieff  Edition"  is  devoted  to  the  publication  of 
worthy  native  works.  The  "  Glinka  prizes  "  are  awarded 
on  the  anniversary  of  the  production  of  "A  Life  for  the 
Czar"  and  "Russian  and.Ludmilla  "  (both  first  per- 
formed on  November  27),  for  orchestral  and  chamber 
works.  The  annual  chamber  music  competitions  have 
for  their  object  the  cultivation  of  quartet  composition. 
Not  least  is  the  phi-lanthropical  scheme  designed  to  re- 
lieve necessitous  musicians. 

Concert  undertakings  both  in  St.  Petersburg  and  Mos- 
cow are  in  a  very  thriving  condition,  artistically  and 
financially.  In  addition  to  the  schemes  endowed  by 
Belaieff,  St.  Petersburg  has  its  free  Sunday  evening  con- 
certs, which  have  been  running  for  some  fifteen  years 
and  are  being  continued,  thanks  to  the  beneficence  of 
Count  Sheremetieff,  who  has  lately  made  himself  re- 
sponsible for  the  requisite  funds.  The  Imperial  Russian 
Society  is  active  not  only  in  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow, 


SYMPHONIC  AND   CHAMBER   MUSIC.  32 1 

where  its  concerts  are  usually  conducted  either  by  Safon- 
off,  Emile  Cooper  or  Ippolitoff-Ivanoff,  but  in  other 
centres  in  different  parts  of  the  Empire.  In  both  capitals 
there  are  series  of  concerts  given  by  Mr.  Kussevitsky, 
who  divides  his  programmes  into  classic  and  modern 
sections,  and  by  Siloti,  the  eminent  pianist,  who  also 
looks  after  the  interests  of  chamber  music.  The  con- 
ductorship  of  the  Moscow  Philharmonic  Society  is  dis- 
tributed among  several  eminent  musicians,  among  whom 
Safonoff  and  Rachmaninoff  may  be  mentioned.*  Both 
Kussevitsky  and  Vassilenko  provide  "  popular"  Sunday 
concerts  at  which  symphonic  music  is  to  be  heard  at  a 
trifling  cost;  the  latter  series  is  arranged  historically. 
The  choral  concerts  of  the  Imperial  Society  are  directed 
by  Cooper  and  Glazounoff.  There  is  a  new  chamber 
music  society  in  Moscow,  which  devotes  itself  to  classic 
and  modern  works  of  all  nationalities,  and  a  number  of 
societies  and  private  individuals  vie  with  each  other  in 
making  known  music  of  worth  in  every  possible  direc- 
tion. Madame  d'Alheim  occupies  herself  actively  with 
the  propagation  of  the  art-song. 

From  this  short  account  of  musical  affairs  it  is  easy  to 
perceive  that  the  present  prominent  position  of  Russia  in 
the  musical  world  is  likely  to  be  upheld  for  some  time 
to  come. 

Between  the  above  picture — drawn  perhaps  a  little 
angularly — and  that  of  musical  society  in  Russia  prior 
to  the  unfolding  of  the  Nationalist  banner,  there  is  a 


*  Mr.  Chevillard,  the  well-known  Paris  conductor,  found 
himself  obliged,  some  years  back,  when  rej^orting  Russian  pro- 
gress, after  a  tour,  to  make  some  strictures  upon  the  standard 
of  orchestral  playing.  He  attributed  certain  faults  to  the 
practice  of  dispensing  with  a  regular  conductor. 

22 


325  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

contrast  which,  without  knowledge  of  the  circumstances 
contributing  to  this  amazing  development,  might  easily 
give  rise  to  scornful  disbelief,  to  a  suggestion  that  the 
bright  colours  of  the  present  or  the  gloomy  ones  of  the 
past  are  laid  on  in  response  to  the  dictates  of  a  feverish 
imagination. 

Had  Balakireff  dared  to  foretell,  during  his  first  con- 
fabulation with  Cui,  such  a  rosy  future  as  has  evolved 
about  his  schemes,  he  might  easily  have  been  regarded 
as  the  living  prototype  of  the  optimistic  Dodon  in  "  The 
Golden  Cock." 

The  author  brings  his  labours  to  a  close  with  the  hope 
that  the  present  volume,  whatever  be  its  limitations,  will 
at  least  provide  a  chronicle  adequate  to  the  purpose  of 
showing  that  this  phenomenon— the  Russian  musical 
movement — is  not  the  work  of  a  magician  who  in  one 
night  has  raised  the  most  active  and  progressive  school 
of  composition  in  the  world,  but  is  the  fruit  of  hfty 
years  of  unremitting  labour  in  the  pursuit  of  an  ideal. 


APPENDIXES. 


APPENDIX   I. 

ALPHABETICAL   LLST   OF    COMPOSERS    NOT 
DEALT    WITH    IN    THE  FOREGOING  PAGES. 


Alpheraky,  a.  Comes  from  Kharhoff,  in  the  cen- 

(1846).  tre  of  the  Ukraine,  and  is  partial  to 

its  folk-songs.  Confines  himself 
to  the  piano  and  the  voice.  Has  published  songs  to 
Russian  texts  of  Pushkin,  Tolstoi  and  Lermcntoff ;  also 
tc  those  of  Heine,  Hugo,  Musset  and  Goethe. 

Amani,  N.  a  pupil  of  Rimsky-Korsakcff.     Com- 

( 1 875-1904).  bined  Ukrainian  folk-song  and  Orien- 
talism as  inspiration.  Wrote  princi- 
pally for  piano.  The  Themes  with  Variations,  Op.  3, 
the  Suite,  Op.  4,  and  Three  Preludes,  Op.  8,  and  "  Album 
for  the  Young,"  Op.  15,  are  all  for  this  instrument.  Op. 
I  is  a  string  trio. 

Artcibcusheff,  N.  Flas  written  slight  works  for 

(1858).  orchestra,  such  as  "Valse  Fan- 

tasia," Op.    9.      Is    represented 
in  the  "  Vendreclis"  collection  and  the  joint  "Variations 

32.5 


326  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

on  a  Popular  Theme  "  ^both  for  string  quartet).     Three 
"Melodies"  to  texts  of  Pushkin,  Nikitin  and  Fett. 

Blaramberg,  p.  I.  Was  for  a  time  a  journalist. 

(1841-1905).  A    friend   and   pupil   of   Bala- 

kireff.  Wrote  incidental  music 
to  Ostrovsky's  "  Voyevoda  "  and  a  cantata  on  Lermon- 
toff's  "  Demon."  His  operatic  works  include  "  Mary  of 
Burgundy "  (Hugo),  "  The  Mum.mers,"  "  Russalka," 
"  Tushino  "  (Ostrovsky).  Cheshikin  styles  him  "melo- 
dist." Other  works  include  a  fantasia,  "  The  Dragon- 
Flies,"  for  solo,  chorus  and  orchestra,  a  musical  sketch, 
"  On  the  Volga,"  for  male  chorus  and  orchestra,  sym- 
phonic poem,  "  The  Dying  Gladiator,"  a  symphony  in  B 
minor  and  a  sinfonietta,  a  few  folk-songs  for  chorus, 
unaccompanied,  and  several  songs. 

Bleichmann,  J.  I.  Pupil   of   Solovieff  and   Rim- 

(1868- 1 909).  sky-Korsakoff  at  St.  Petersburg, 

and  of  Reinecke  and  Jadassohn 
at  Leipzig.  Composer  of  songs  of  a  "  popular  "  type,  of 
piano  and  violin  pieces,  a  piano  sonata.  Op.  15,  another 
with  violin,  an  orchestral  suite  and  a  sacred  work  for 
solo  voices,  chorus  and  orchestra,  "  Sebastian  the  Mar- 
tyr." Has  also  given  an  operatic  setting  to  Rostand's 
"  Princesse  Lointaine." 

Blumenfeld,  F.  Allied  with  the  "  Nationalists." 

(1863).  Has  held  the  post  of  conductor  at 

the  Imperial  Opera,  St.  Petersburg 
Composer  of  an  "  Allegro  de  Concert "  in  A,  for  piano 
and  orchestra,  a  Symphony  in  C,  Op.  39,  and  an  orches- 
tral mazurka ;  songs  to  Russian  texts  and  Byron ;  many 
piano  pieces,  studies  and  preludes  in  all  keys.     A  quar- 


APPENDIX.  327 

tet,  Op.  26,  in  F,  and  his  contributions  to  the  collabora- 
tive quartets  represent  his  chamber  music. 

EWALD,  V.  Was  the  'cellist  at  the  Belaieff  Friday 

(i860).  meetings    and    has    contributed  to  the 

"Vendredis"     collection.       Has     also 

written  a  Quartet  (Op.  i),  a  Quintet  (Op.  4),  and  some 

'cello  pieces. 

Gniessin,  M.  a  young  representative  of  the  pre- 

(1883).  sent  movement.     His  works  evince  a 

German  tendency.  They  include  a 
"  Symphonic  Fragment  after  Shelley,"  Op.  4,  a  Sonata- 
ballad  in  C  sharp  minor  for  piano  and  'cello,  Op.  7,  and 
some  valuable  songs.  Gniessin  was  aw^arded  one  of  the 
"Glinka"  prizes  in  1913  for  his  symphonic  poem, 
"  Wrubel." 

GOEDICKE,  A.  Has    composed    two    symphonies, 

(1877).  Opus  15  and  16,  a  Dramatic  Overture, 

Op.  7,  a  Piano  Trio,  Op.  14,  a  Piano 
and  Violin  Sonata,  Op.  10,  a  Piano  Sonata,  Op.  18,  a 
"  Concertstiick  "  with  orchestra,  and  small  pieces,  includ- 
ing a  prelude  after  Maeterlinck's  "  The  Blind." 

ILYNSKY,  A.  A.  Studied  under  Kullak  and  Bar- 

(1859)-  gi^l  3.t  Berlin.   Was  for  a  time  pro- 

fessor at  the  Moscow  Philharmonic 
•Society's  music  school.  His  orchestral  works  include 
Croatian  dances,  a  Symphonic  Scherzo,  Op.  3,  and  an 
"Overture  to  Czar  Feodor"  (from  A.  Tolstoi's  trilogy). 
Has  composed  an  opera  on  Pushkin's  "  Fountain  of  the 
Bakchisserai,"  a  string  quartet,  a  suite  for  two  pianos  on 
"  Nour  and  Anitra,"  Op.  1 3  (since  arranged  for  orches- 
tra) and  various  violin  and  piano  pieces. 


328  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

JUON,  P.  Lives  in  Berlin.     His  recent  works  in- 

(1872).  elude  two  Piano  Quintets,  Opus  33  and 

44,  a  "  Divertimento  "  for  flute,  oboe,  clar- 
inet, horn,  bassoon  and  piano,  a  Piano  Rhapsody,  Op. 
37,  a  Concerto  for  'cello.  Op.  45,  one  for  violin  and 
smaller  piano  works. 

Kalinnikoff,  V.  S.  Studied  at  the  Moscow  Phil- 

( 1 866- 1 900).  harmonic  Society's  school  under 

Ilynsky  and  Blaramberg.  Was 
then  offered  post  of  assistant-conductor  at  the  Italian 
Opera,  but  shortly  afterwards  died  of  consumption  and 
the  effects  of  semi-starvation.  He  wrote  two  symphonies 
(in  G  minor  and  A),  of  which  the  first  is  now  often 
played,  and  other  orchestral  works ;  incidental  music  to 
A.  Tolstoi's  "  Czar  Boris  "  (from  the  trilogy),  "  Russal- 
ka,"  a  ballad  for  solo  voice,  chorus  and  orchestra,  a  tone- 
poem,  "  The  Cedar  and  the  Palm,"  a  quartet  and  two 
miniatures  for  string  quartet  with  double-bass  ad  libi- 
tum (he  was  a  fellow-student  of  Mr.  Kussevitsky,  the 
celebrated  contra-bassist  and  conductor),  and  some 
songs  and  piano  pieces. 

KaRATIGIN,  W.  G.  Edited     Moussorgsky's     post- 

humous works.  Has  also  written 
some  songs  with  a  folk-lore  basis.  Is  a  "  polisher  "  who 
apparently  exercises  great  discrimination  in  the  publi- 
cation of  his  own  output. 

Kazachenko,  G.  a.  Studied  for  nine  years  with 

(1858).  Rimsky-Korsakoff  and  has  ar- 

ranged the  latter's  opera, 
"  Snegourochka,"  for  piano.  An  instrumental  and  vocal 
composer,  has  written  an  opera,  "  Prince  Serebreny  "  (A. 


APPENDIX.  329 

Tolstoi),  which  was  produced  at  St.  Petersburg  in  1892. 
Is  chorus-master  at  St.  Petersburg  Imperial  Opera. 

Kashkin,  N.  D.  Teacher  and  critic,  and  author  of 

(1839).  "  Remmiscences    of  Tchaikovsky." 

Taught  himself  until  i860,  when 
he  took  lessons  from  Dubuque,  and  was  subsequently 
appointed  to  the  staff  of  Moscow  Conservatoire.  A 
closs  friend  of  Tchaikovsky. 

KOPYLOFF,  A.  Was  a  pupil  of  Liadoff.     His  or- 

(1854).  chestral  works  include  a  Symphony 

in  C  major.  Op.  14,  a  Scherzo,  Op.  10, 
and  a  Concert-overture,  Op.  41.  Has  published  two 
Quartets,  Opus  15  and  23,  an  Andantino  and  Prelude 
and  Fugue  on  the  name  Belaieff,  some  songs,  unaccom- 
panied choruses  and  piano  pieces.  Among  the  latter 
are  those  (Op.  52)  entitled  "  Pictures  of  Child  Life." 

KORESHCHENKO,  A.  N.  Gold  medallist  of  Moscow 

(1870).  Conservatoire  for  both  piano 

and  theory,  which  he  studied 
with  Taneieff  and  Arensky  respectively.  Is  now  him- 
self professor  of  harmony  at  that  institution.  Has 
written  three  operas,  a  ballet,  "  The  Magic  Mirror,"  some 
incidental  music,  a  number  of  orchestral  works,  includ- 
ing a  "  Lyric  Symphony,"  Georgian  and  Armenian  songs 
(with  orchestra),  a  "  Prologue  "  celebrating  the  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  of  the  Moscow  Conservatoire,  a  string 
quartet,  a  large  number  of  songs  and  some  piano  and 
violin  pieces.  His  style  resembles  that  of  Tchaikovsky 
and  Arensky 

KryjaNOVSKY,    J.  Belongs    to    the    present-day 

movement  and  is  an  eclectic.   His 


330  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

output  is  small  and  is  chiefly  for  piano.     There  is  an 
excellent  sonata  for  piano  and  violin,  Op.  4. 

LiSSENKO,  N.  V.  A  pupil  of  Rimsky-Korsakoff. 

(1846).  Has  written  several  operas,  and, 

like  his  master,  has  set  Gogol's 

"  Night  in  Ma.y  "  and  "  Christmas  Eve."     He  has  also 

taken  the  same  author's  "  Tarass  Boulba  "  as  text. 

Mali SHEV SKY,  V.  Is  one  of  the  most  important 

present-day  composers.  His  music 
is  virtually  unknown  in  England,  and  has  only  been 
heard,  we  believe,  in  Bournemouth,  where  Mr.  Godfrey 
has  given  performances  of  his  first  three  symphonies, 
Opus  8  (in  G),  10  (in  A),  and  14.  He  has  published 
three  Quartets,  Opus  2,  3  and  6,  and  a  Violin  Sonata, 
Op.  I.     Is  at  present  Principal  of  Odessa  Conservatoire. 

Melgounoff,  J.  N.  Was  associated  with  West- 

(1846-93).  phal   in  his  effort  to  promote 

a  proper  understanding  of 
rhythm.  Joined  Laub  and  then  Davidoff  as  accompan- 
ist on  their  concert  tours.  He  then  devoted  himself  to 
the  study  of  folk-song,  discovered  that  the  univ^ersal 
method  of  noting  these  melodies  was  wrong,  and  ad- 
vocated their  arrangement  in  accordance  with  the  poly- 
phonic rendering  given  by  the  people  who  sing  them. 
Melgounoff  wrote  treatises  on  kindred  subjects. 

OSTROGLAZOFF,  M.  A   determined  though  some- 

what restless  eclectic.  A  piano 
and  violin  sonata.  Op.  10,  displays  considerable  stylis- 
tic uncertainty.  There  is  a  "Crepuscule"  for  orches- 
tra, Op.  II.  Has  composed  a  one-act  opera  on  Poe's 
"  Masque  of  the  Red  Death." 


APPENDIX.  331 

POGOJEFF,  W.  His    chamber    works,    which    are 

fairly  well-known,  include  a  theme 
and  variations  for  quartet,  a  "  Quartettino "  and 
another  specimen  for  the  same  combination,  in  D.  Has 
written  a  little  for  orchestra  and  a  good  deal  for  piano. 
For  the  last  there  are  four  fugues  on  "BACH." 

Prokofieff,  S.  a  pupil  of  Ghcre  and  Liadoff; 

1891).  he   does   not   appear  to   have   yet 

published  anything  for  orchestra, 
but  has  written  a  one-act  opera  and  a  piano  concerto. 
A  piano  sonata  marked  Op.  i  (1909),  reminds  us,  even 
more  forcibly  than  his  birth-date,  of  his  youth.  The 
second  Sonata,  Op.  14  (191 2)  shows  an  immense  ad- 
vance on  the  earlier  work.  One  of  Russia's  most  pro- 
mising composers. 

Sachnovsky,  Y.  S.  Pupil   of   Arensky,   Taneieff 

(1866).  and      Ippolitoff-Ivanoff.       His 

songs  merit  attention.    A  part- 
song,  "  The  Pampas  Grass,"  has  lately  been  published. 

Safonoff,  v.  I.  Studied  theory  with  Zikke  and 

(1852).  Zaremba,     piano     with     Brassin, 

'  subsequently   taking   gold   medal 

at  St.  Petersburg  Conservatoire.  Undertook  extensive 
tour  as  pianist.  After  holding  a  sub-professorship  at 
St.  Petersburg  went  to  Moscow,  and  in  1889  succeeded 
Taneieff  as  director.  Since  1890,  when  he  became  con- 
ductor of  the  Moscow  branch  of  the  Russian  Musical 
Society,  his  achieved  world-wide  fame.  Was  for  three 
years  conductor  of  New  York  Philharmonic.  Orches- 
tra. Has  formed  several  celebrated  piano  pupils,  in- 
cluding Scriabin. 


332  A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 

Seniloff.  Pupil  of  Dr.  Riemann  in  Leipzig  and 

(1875).  later  of  Korsakoff  and  Glazounoff.     Has 

preserved  the  style  derived  from  his 
earlier  environment,  but  certain  of  his  songs  prove  that 
he  is  alive  to  the  importance  of  autochtonous  material 
as  literary  substance.  Has  composed  some  symphonic 
poems. 

SiLOTI,  A.  After    six    years'    study    at    Moscow 

(1863).  Conservatoire      under      N.      Rubinstein, 

Tchaikovsky  and  Hubert,  became  a 
pupil  of  Liszt.  Was  appointed  professor  at  ^loscow 
in  1880.  Conducted  the  Philharmonic  concerts  there 
in  1 90 1 -2  and  has  appeared  all  over  Europe  as  solo- 
pianist. 

SOKOLOFF,  N.  A.  Was     a     pupil     of    Korsakoff 

(1859).  from   1877  to   1885,  and  was  as- 

sociated with  the  junior  nation- 
alists and  with  the  Pelaieff  "  Fridays "  group.  His 
chamber-music  comprises  three  Quarters,  Opus  7,  in  F, 
14,  in  A,  and  20,  m  D  minor,  a  String  Quintet,  Op.  3, 
and  a  serenade  on  "  Belaieff."  He  also  contributed  to 
the  "\^endredis"  collection.  For  orchestra,  there  are 
the  dramatic  poem  after  Tolstoi's  "Don  Juan,"  and  an 
elegie  and  a  serenade  for  strings.  He  has  wTitten  a 
ballet,  "The  Wild  Swans,"  Op.  40,  some  choruses,  a 
large  number  of  songs  and  several  pieces  for  violin, 
violoncello  and  piano,  respectively. 

Spendiaroff,  a.  Belongs  to  the  neo-nationalists. 

(1871).  Orchestral     compositions     which 

have    gained    attention    are    the 

symphonic   tableau,   "The   Three   Palm-Trees"   (after 

Lermontoff)   and   "  Sketches   from  the  Crimea."     Has 


Appendix.  333 

published  some  works   for  small   orchestra   and  some 
violin  pieces. 

Shcherbatcheff,  N.  V.  Associated  with  theori- 

(1853).  ginal     "young     Russian" 

circle  and  contributed  a 
supplementary  piece  to  the  "  Paraphrases "  (initiated 
by  Borodin).  Is  a  prolific  composer  for  piano  and  has 
set  twelve  poems  of  A.  Tolstoi  and  Heine.  His  or- 
chestral work  consists  of  a  Serenade,  Op.  33,  and  two 
"Idylls." 

Taneieff,   a.   S.  a  highly-placed   State   official, 

(1850).  a  friend  of  Glinka  and  later  of 

Balakireff  and  Moussorgsky.  First 
studied  with  Reichel  at  Dresden,  and  in  1886  began 
taking  lessons  with  Rimsky-Korsakoff.  His  composi- 
tions have  been  widely  performed.  An  opera,  "  Cupid's 
Revenge,"  is  severely  criticised  by  Cheshikin.  He  is 
credited  with  a  nationalistic  style  m  his  later  work, 
and  the  trio  and  scherzo  of  his  second  Symphony,  Op. 
21,  completed  in  1902,  is  cited  as  an  example.  Has 
composed  three  symphonies,  a  symphonic  tableau^ 
"  Aleosha  Popovich,"  an  overture  to  "  Hamlet,"  three 
quartets,  choruses,  some  violin  pieces  and  several  songs, 
and  has  orchestrated  Sinding's  "  Dance  Orientale  "  for 
its  adaptation  as  ballet  music. 

TiNIAKOFF,  A.  One  of  the  younger  school.    Com- 

poser of  piano  music  in  the  style  of 
Scriabin  as  Chopinist,  and  some  songs. 

WlHTOL,  J".  A  contemporary  of  Arensky  as  pupil 

(1863).  of  Johansen  and  Korsakoff.    Has  occu- 

pied  himself   largely   with   the  popu- 


334  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

larisation  of  Lettish  folk-tunes  which  he  has  made  the 
basis  of  such  compositions  as  the  small  Orchestral 
Suite,  Op.  29,  the  Symphonic  Tableau,  Op.  4,  the  Fan- 
tasia for  violin,  Op.  42,  and  the  Variations  for  piano. 
Op.  6.  In  addition  there  are  two  works  for  orchestra, 
the  "Dramatic  Overture,"  Op.  21,  and  the  "  Spriditis  " 
overture.  Op.  37,  a  String  Quartet,  Op.  27,  a  piano 
sonata  and  several  instrumental  pieces  and  songs.  He 
has  served  on  the  Belaieff  committee  and  has  contri- 
buted to  both  dedicatory  quartet  collections. 

Zelensky,  L.  Of    Polish    extraction;    his    best 

known  orchestral  work  is  a  suite  of 
Polish  dances.  He  has  published  a  Trio  for  piano 
and  clarinet  and  'cello.  Op.  3,  some  worthy  songs  and 
a  number  of  instrumental  pieces. 

ZOLOTAREFF,  V.  Is  the  composer  of  several  or- 

(1873).  chestral    works;    included    among 

them  are  a  "Fete  Villageoise,"  Op. 
24,  a  Hebrew  Rhapsody,  Op.  7,  and  a  Symphony,  Op.  8. 
He  has  made  an  important  contribution  to  the  chamber 
repertory  in  the  shape  of  four  quartets  and  a  string 
quintet,  also  a  trio  for  violin,  viola  and  piano.  He  is 
a  distinguished  song  writer.  There  are  some  small 
piano  pieces  and  a  suite  for  violin.  His  music  is 
nationalistic  in  tendency. 


APPENDIX  II. 
DARGOMIJSKY'S    "  RUSSALKA." 


(a)  "  The  Russalkas  are  female  water-sprites,  who 
occupy  a  position  which  corresponds  in  many  respects 
with  that  filled  by  the  elves  and  fairies  of  Western 
Europe.  The  origin  of  their  name  seems  doubtful,  but 
it  appears  to  be  connected  with  nis,  an  old  Slavonic 
word  for  a  stream,  or  with  ruslo,  the  bed  of  a  river, 
and  with  several  other  kindred  words,  such  as  rosd, 
dew,  which  have  reference  to  water.  They  are  gener- 
ally represented  under  the  form  of  beauteous  maidens 
with  full  and  snow-white  bosoms,  and  with  long  and 
slender  limbs.  At  times  they  emerge  from  the  waters 
of  tlie  lake  or  river  in  which  they  dwell,  and  sit  upon 
its  banks,  combing  and  plaiting  their  flowing  locks,  or 
they  cling  to  a  mill-wheel,  and  turn  round  with  it  amid 
the  splash  of  the  stream."  (From  W.  R.  S.  Ralston's 
"  Songs  of  the  Russian  People.") 

(b)  The  plot  of  "  Russalka,"  which  is  in  four  acts,  is 

335 


336  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 

as  follows  :  Natasha,  a  miller's  daughter,  is  wooed  by 
a  young  prince.  She  is  in  no  doubt  as  to  his  sincerity 
and  allows  herself  to  become  his  wife  in  all  but  law. 
When  she  learns  that  her  lover  has  been  unable  to  free 
himself  from  the  social  obligation  of  marrying  within 
his  own  rank,  she  throws  herself  into  the  mill-stream, 
is  drowned,  and  becomes  a  ^Russalka.  In  the  second 
act  the  prince  appears  on  the  scene  of  his  clandestine 
amours  after  an  interval  of  two  years  of  unhappy 
married  life,  and  is  approached  by  a  young  Russalka, 
who  informs  him  that  she  is  his  child.  At  the  men- 
tion of  Natasha  the  recollection  of  his  early  passion 
is  revived,  and  for  a  time  he  vacillates  between  flight 
and  reunion  with  his  paramour.  Before  he  is  able  to 
decide,  the  miller,  who  has  been  driven  out  of  his  senses 
by  his  daughter's  betrayal,  hurls  the  prince  into  the 
river. 


INDEX. 


A. 

Akimenko,  282,  303-4. 
— ■ — -,  choruses,  304. 
,  "Lvric  Poem,"  304. 


,  "  Pages  de  pcesie  fan- 

tasque,"  304. 

Queen  of  the  Alps," 


304. 


,  "  Sonatefantastique," 

304. 
Alabieff,  7. 
Alexander  I,  87. 

II,  104. 

■ III,  272-3. 

D'Alheim,  321. 

Alpherskv,  325. 

Altani,  290. 

Amani,  325. 

Anne  (Empress),  5-6. 

Araya,  5. 

Arensky,     235,     240-1,     255-9. 

274,  283,  287.  _ 

,  basso  ostinato,  257. 

,       "  Dream      on      the 

Volga,"  257. 

duets  for  two  pianos, 


259. 


fantasia      on      epic 
chants.  258-9. 
,    "  Fountain    of    Bakt- 


chissarai,"   258. 
,  "NalandDamavanti," 


259. 


Arensky,   "  Night  in  Egypt," 
258, 


256 


-, orchestral  suite  (third), 

-,   piano  concerto,  256. 
-,  piano  quintet.  258. 
,   "Raphael,"  258. 
-,   string   quartets,    256, 


337 


259. 

,  svniDhony  (first),  256. 

,    '^'Traviata."   257. 

— ,  trio,  256,  259. 

,  variations  (Op.  54),  256. 

Artcibousheff,  320,  325. 
Asanchevsky,   117,   189. 
Auber,  78. 
Auer,  275. 

B. 

Balakireff,  28,  38-9,  63-73,  77, 
79,  88,  91-2,  99.  119-20,  122, 
127,  177,  181-4,  188,  194-5, 
201-2.  240-2,  244,  247,  253-4, 
258,  262,  265,  267,  271,  303; 
322. 
,  Czechish  overture,  67. 

■'  Bohemian  "poem,  68. 

"Golden  Fi.sh,"   72. 

"  Islamey,"  69. 

"King  Lear,"  67-8. 

"Russia,"  68. 

Spanish  overture,  70. 

"Selim's  Song,"  72. 

"Tamara,"   68-71. 

23 


338  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 


Balmont,  316. 

Bamberg,  77. 

Baring,  268-9. 

Basili,  14. 

Beaumarchais,   214. 

Beethoven,  4,  47,  103,  116. 

BelaiefE,  106,  200,  219,  242, 
248-50,  319-20. 

Bellaigue,  172-3. 

Bellini,  66. 

Belsky,  216,  227. 

Benkendorff,  57-8. 

Berezovsky,  6.  ^    „-.  r. 

Berlioz,  1,  25,  32,  49,  60,  71-2, 
264. 

,  "  Harold  in  Italy,"  71. 

Bertin.  32. 

Bertrand,  48,  53-4. 

Bessel,  94. 

Bilibin,  252. 

Blaramberg,  326. 

Bleichmann,  326. 

BUimenfeld.  326. 

Boehm,  11. 

Boieldieu,  13. 

Borodin,  2,  38,  63-5,  68,  70,  72, 
80,  86-107,  117-9,  122,  127, 
150,  181-2,  188-9,  194,  200, 
203,  212,  245,  247-8,  250, 
289,  300,  316. 

,  Belaieff  quartet,  106. 

,"Czar'sBetrotlied,"9?. 

,  "Dim  Forest,"  93. 

-,  "Dissonance,"  93. 

,  "  My  Song  is  Bitter," 

93-4. 

\    "Paraphrases,"    103, 

195. 

"Prince  Igor,"  63,  94, 

96-100,  103-4,  195,  200. 
-,  "  Queen  of  theOcean, 

-,  "  Sleeping  Beauty,"  93. 
-,  sextet,  90. 

Steppes  of   Central 


93. 


Asia,"  103  , ,       .       s 

-,  sj^mphony  (A  minor) 


Bortniansky,  6,  56. 
Bourgault-Ducoudray,  242. 
Brahms,  244,  276,  283. 
Byron,  123. 


Calvocoressi,  27,  41, 129,  165-6, 
175. 

Catherine  II,  5-6. 

Catoire,  309-10. 

,  "Mtsyri,"  309. 

,  piano  and  violin  son- 
ata, 310. 

,  piano  concerto,  310. 

,  preludes,  310. 

,  quintet,  310. 

,  "Russalka,"  310. 

-,  sj'mphony   (C  minor). 


310. 

,  trio,  310. 

,  Tioutcheff  poems,  310. 

Cavos,  5. 

Charpentier,  129. 

Cheshikin,  185,  208,  212,  221, 

271,  300-1. 
Chesterton,  268. 

Chopin,  72,  224,  250,  264,  282, 
293. 

Combarieu.  149. 

Cooper,  321. 

Cui,  2,  36,  38,  40,  42,  51-2, 
64-5,  68,  72,  74-86,  94,  99, 
103,  105,  113,  119,  121,  128, 
150,  174,  182,  185,  189-90, 
195,  203,  247,  260,  263,  265, 

272,  293,  322. 

-,  "  Angelo,"  74,  80-1. 

,  ''Cedar,"  82. 

,  "  Feast  in  Plague- 
time,"  83. 

,  "Filibuster,"  82-3. 

,  "  Mam'selle  Fifi,"  83.  _ 

Mandarin's    Son," 


106. 


78,  121. 

,    ''Music    in    Russia," 

82.  85. 

-,  "  Prisoner  of  the  Cau- 


-,  symphony  (E  fiat),  92.  casus,"  78,  81-2. 


INDEX. 


339 


Cui,  "Ratcliflf,"  78,  81. 

,   "Saracen,"  82-3. 

,  ''Solemn  March,"  81. 

,  "The  Rock,"  82. 

D. 

Dargomijskv,    28,    30-44,    54, 
63,    75,    77,    114,    119,    126, 
128-32,    147,    180,    185,    189, 
194,  213,  221,  265,  272. 
Baba-Yaga,"  44. 


37. 


— ,  '•  Dance  of  Mummers," 


44. 


-,  "  Don  Juan,"  41. 
-,  "  Esmeralda,"  32,  35. 
-,    "Finnish   Fantasia," 


41,  43. 


-,  "  Kazachok,"  37. 
"Russalka,"    35,    37, 


37. 


"Russian    Legend,' 


^  '•'  Stone-Guest,"  38,  41, 

43,  75,  99,  126,  130,  180, 
185,  189. 

— ;  "Triumph  of  Bac- 
chus," 34. 

Debussy,  41,  169,  295,  306. 

,      ''Pelleas     et     Meli- 

sande,"  41. 

Dehn,  14,  28,  32. 

Delibes,  95. 

Dickens.  55. 

Dio,  76.' 

Dumas,  76,  82. 

fits,  257. 


E. 


Elenkovsky,  241. 
Elizabeth  (Empress).  5-6. 
Ewald,  327. 


Famvntsin,  128, 146,  263. 
Faure,  309. 
Fetis,  30. 
Field,  11,  115. 


Flaubert,  125. 

Folk-songs,   68,   75,    253,   288, 

299. 
Fomin,  5. 

,  "  Matinsky,"  5. 

Fouque,  63. 

France,  Anatole,  314. 

G. 

Galitzin,  12. 
Galuppi,  6. 
Gavroushkievich,  89. 
Giacometti,  50. 
Glazounofle,  68,  100,  106-7,  200, 

230,  235,  239-51,  307,  320-1. 
— — — ,     Antokolsky    cantata, 

248. 

,  Belaieff  quartet,  106. 

,  "  Carnival  "  overture, 

"'Cortege    Solennel," 

-,  "Delia,"  248. 

-,  "Desire,"  248. 

-,  fifth  symphony,  247. 

-,  Finnish  fantasia,  246. 

-,    first    Greek   overture, 

-,    first    symphony,    243, 

-,  "Forest,"  244-5. 

-,  fourth  svm[)hony,  247. 

-,  "Idylle,"  247. 

-,    "  Kalevala    Legend," 

-,  ''Kremlin,^' 244,  247. 

,  "  Middle  Ages  "  suite, 

244,  246. 

,  "Nereid,"  248. 

,  "Novelettes,"  248. 

Oriental    Reverie," 


247. 

247. 


242. 
247. 


246, 


247. 


244,  247 


"  Oriental  Rhapsody,' 


248. 


Oriental  Romance,' 

-,  quartet  in  D,  242. 
-,  quartets,  242,  248. 
-,  "Raymonda,"  244-6. 


340 


A   SHORT   HISTORY   OE'   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 


GlazounoflE,   S.A.S.C.H.A. 

suite,  242. 

,  "Sea,"  244,  247. 

,  second  Greek  overture, 

242,  247. 
,  second  symphony,  243, 

247. 

Slavonic   Festival," 


244,  248. 

-,  songs,  Op.  59  and  60, 


247. 


Stenka       Razin,' 
243-4,  247. 

-,  third  sj^mphony,  247. 


Gliere,  281-2,  287-9. 

,  duets,  two  'cellos,  288. 

,  duets,  two  violins,  288. 

,  duets,  violin  and  'cello, 

288. 

,  first  symphony,  288. 

,  Mourometz,  289,  302. 

,  octet,  288. 

-,  quartets,  287^8. 

— ,  "Seasons,"  288. 

— ,  second  symphony,  288. 

,  sextets,  288. 

,   "  Sirens."  287-8. 

Glinka,  1,  8-30,  32,  35,  38-40, 
43,  52,  54.  63-4,  67-8,  72-3, 
120,  131,  180,  183,  234, 
247-8,  252,  264,  272,  320. 

,  "  Jota  Aragonesa,"  27. 

,  "  Kamarinskaya,"  27. 

— '■ ,   "  Life  for  the  Czar," 

8,  13,  15-8,  63,  67,  320. 

Night  in  Madrid," 


27. 

,    "Prince  Kholmsky," 

25. 

,     "Russian    and    Lud- 

milla,"  20-4,  63,  99,  245.  320. 
-,  "  Tarass  Boulba,"  27. 


Gluck,  108. 

Gneissin,  327. 

Goedicke.  327. 

Goethe,  309. 

Gogol,    15,    27.    43,   03,   128-9, 

175,    195,    197,    206-7,    246, 

269. 


Golenishcheff-Koutousoff,   169- 

71. 
Gorky,  269. 
Gounod,  59. 

Grechaninoff,  235,  282,  300-2. 
-,    "  Aleosha  Popovich," 


302. 


302. 


-,  "Czar  Boris,"  301. 
-,  "  Czar  Feodor,"  301. 
-,  "  Dobrinya  Nikitich," 

-,  quartets,  301. 

-,      "  Sister     Beatrice," 


302,  317. 

,  "  Snow-maiden,"  301. 

,  symphonies,  302. 

Griboiedoff,  43. 

Grieg,  144. 

Grove,  260^ 

Gucewicz,  76. 

Gedeanoff  (Prince),  87. 

Gedeonoff,  94-5,  150,  203,  236. 

H. 

Halevv,  34,  53. 

Hartmann,  140,  167.  169. 

Heine,  78,  309, 

Helena       Pavlovna        (Grand 

Duchess),  206. 
Herke,  116. 
Hermann,  76. 
Hubert,  275. 
Hugo,  32.  76,  80,  117. 
,     "  Lucrezia    Borgia," 

32. 


Ibsen,  87. 
Ilvnskv,  327. 

Ippolitoff-Ivanoff,     235,     282, 
287,  289-91,  299,  321. 

Armenian    rhapsody, 


291. 


289,  291. 


"' Asra,"  290. 
"Assy a,"  291. 
cantatas,  291. 
Caucasian  Sketches," 


INDEX. 


341 


Ippolitoff-Ivaiioff.    "  Iveria,' 
291. 

,  Moorish  melodies.  291. 

,  quartet,  289. 

,  suite,  291. 

,  "  Yar  Khmel,"  291. 

Ivanoff,  13. 
Ivanovsky,  122. 

J. 

Jacobs.  268. 
Jaksch,  306. 
Jadoul,  105. 
Jerome,  268. 
Johansen,  251,  256. 
Joukovsky,  15-6,  57. 
Juon,  328. 

K. 

Kalinnikoff,  328. 
Kanille,  182. 
Kantemir,  43. 
Karamzin,  133. 
Karatigin,  328. 
Karma  Una,  70. 
Kashkin,  329. 
Kazachenko,   328. 
Kholodkoff,  241. 
Kipling,  181,  268. 
Klindworth.  309. 
Koltsoff,  128. 
Kondratieff,  132. 
Kontski,  241. 
Kopyloff,  329. 
Koresclienko,  329. 
Krouglikiff,  174,  263,  265. 
Kroupsky,  116,  143,  163.     - 
Kryjanovskv,  329. 
Kryioff,  43.  ^ 
Kukolnik,  25. 
Kussevitsky,  2,  321. 


Lalo,  P.,  170. 
Lamoureux,  104. 
Langer,  274. 
Laroche,  93,  247. 
Lenz,  von,  242. 
Leonoff,  176. 


Lermontoff,   G9,   83,   186,   271, 

285,  310. 
Liadoff,  68,  103,  103,  120,  175, 

200,    235.    240,    248,    250-3, 

303,  309,  320. 
,     "  Amazons'    Dance," 

252. 

-,     Antokolsky     cantata, 

,  ''  Arabesque,"  252. 

,  "  Baba-Yaga,"  252. 

,    B  e  1  a  i  e  ff    Birthday 

quartet,  250. 

Belaieff  quartet,   106, 


248. 


250. 


252. 
252. 


"Biroulki,"  252. 

"  Bride  of   Messina,' 

'^  Enchanted    Lake,' 


,  Maeterlinck  suite,  252. 

,  orchestral  songs,  252. 

,  "  Paraphrases,"  250. 

,  polonaise,  252. 

,    Schumann's    "Carni- 
val," 250. 

,  "Sylphides,Les,"250. 

-,  variations  for  quartet, 


250. 


Yendredis,"  250. 


Liadoff,  C.  120.  251. 
Liapounoff,  71,  240,  252-4. 

■'  Concert  Overture," 


253. 
254. 


"  Divertissements," 

Etudes    transcend- 
entes,"  254. 

,  folk-songs,  253. 

— — ,    "Ganges,"   254. 

,  "  On  the  Steppe,"  254. 

,  "  Oriental  Romance," 

254. 

,  piano  concerto,  254. 

,    "  Solemn    Overture," 

253-4. 

,   symphony,   253. 

■',  symphonic  poem,  253. 

t"'^krainian    rhapsody. 


254. 


34- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIAN  MUSIC. 


Lipaeff,   301. 

Lissenko,  207,  330. 

Liszt,  25,  48,  64,  69,  71-3,  92, 

101-4,   115,   150,  200,  242-3, 

247,  254,  264,  294. 
Lomakin,  68. 
Lomonossoff,  5. 
LvoflP,  45,  56-60. 
Lvoff,       "  Bianca    and    Giial- 

tiero,"  59. 

,    ''Duel,"   59. 

, ' '  Embroideress, "    59 . 

— ,  soldiers'  songs,  60. 

■ — ,    "  Stabat  Mater,"   59. 

,  "  Starosta    Boris,"  59. 

,    "Undine,"   59. 

,  "Village  Bailiff,"  59. 

M. 

Maeterlinck,    252,   302. 
Maikoff,  51,  235,  304. 
Malishevsky,  330. 
Martini,  6. 
Maupassant,  83. 
Meek,  von,  51,  64,  72,  191. 
Medtner,  283,  307-9. 

,  first  sonata,  308-9. 

,  piano  and  violin  noc- 
turnes, 309. 

-,  piano  and  violin  son- 


ata, 309. 
Melgoiinoff,  330. 
Mendeleieff,  90. 
Mendelssohn,   122. 
Mercy-Argenteau    (Countess), 

81-2,  105,  203. 
Mey,   93,   128,    130,   185,   211, 

215. 
Meyerbeer,    25,    27-8,    34,    49, 

60,  66. 
Michael  Romanoff,   15. 
Minkus,  95. 
Moniuszko,   76. 
Mourometz,   289,   302. 
Moussorgskv,  38,  63-5,  68,  84, 

88,     90-11     94,     99,     102-4, 

108-78,     180-3,     186-9,    193, 

195,  199,  203,  247,  251,  253, 

263,  265,  293,  316. 


Moussorgsky,     "  Bare    Moun- 
tain," 127,  150,  206. 

,     "  Boris    Godounoff," 

63,    84,    119,    131-52,    162-5, 
167,  175-6,  194,  271,  300. 

"Child's  Song,"  130, 


147. 


175. 


-"Classicist,"  128,  146. 
-,  "Don,"  128. 
-,"  Ensigns' Polka,"  116. 
-,  "  Eremoushka,"  130. 
-,  "Flea  Song,"  176. 
-,  "Hand'Islande,"117. 
"Hopak,"    128,    136, 


"Joshua,"  175. 

,   "  Kallistrate,"  125. 

,         "  Khovanshchina," 

151-66,  174,  177,  189,  318. 

,   "Magpie,"  128. 

— ,    "Marriage,"    128-31, 
234. 

,    "Mlada,"    95-6,    103, 

150-1,  175-6,  189. 
;  "Night,"  125. 

=  'Nur.serv,"  126,  130, 


147-50. 

,   "  (Edipus,"   120,  251. 

,    "Orphan,"   130. 

.      "  Peasant's     Cradle- 
song,"    125-6. 

"Peep-show,"    146-7, 


263. 


Pictures  from  an  Ex- 
hibition," 167-9. 

,    "Ragamuffin,"    128. 

,      "  Salammbo,"      125, 


127,  141,  175. 

,  "Saul,"  123. 

,  "  Savishna,"  126,  143. 

,   "Seminarist,"   128. 

,    "Sennacherib,"    127. 

Songs  and  Dances  of 


Death,"  171-4. 

,    "  Sorotchinsk,"   175. 

,    "  Souvenir   of   Child- 
hood," 117. 

"  AVithout  Sunlight," 


170-1, 


INDEX. 


343 


Moussorgsky,  Ph.,  IIG. 
Mozart,  47,  212-3. 

,  "Figaro,"  214. 

Muhler,  306. 

N. 

Napoleon,  75. 

Napravnik.  81,  100. 

National  Anthem,  56,  58,  60. 

Nekra-ssoff,  83,  125,  284. 

Newmarch,  Mrs.  Rosa,  295. 

Nietzsche,  309. 

Nicholas  I,  7,  14,  46,  56-8. 

Nikisch,  104. 

Nikolskv,  131,  141. 

Nikon,  152-3. 

O. 

Obolensky,  117. 
Ossovsky,  320. 
Ostroglazoff,  330. 
Ostrovskv,   54,   125,    197,   269. 

,   "Snow-maiden,"  301. 

— ,  "  Vovevoda,"125,  257. 

Oulibisheff,  '47,  66-7. 

P. 

Paganini,  254. 

Patti,  146. 

Peter  the  Great,  5-6,  154. 

Petroff,  175-6. 

Petrova,  24. 

Petrovsky.  221. 

Poe,  286.  ' 

Pogojeff,  320,  330. 

Polonskv,  206. 

Ponchielli,  80. 

— ,   "Gioconda,"  80. 

Popoff,  118-9,  121. 

Pougin,  24,  42,  48,  52. 

Ponrgold,  132,  194. 

Pratsch,  4. 

Prokofieflf,  331. 

Puccini,  129,  318. 

Pushkin,  5,  15,  20-1,  34-5,  41, 
78,  83,  104,  128,  131,  133-5, 
185.194-5,206,213,216,231, 
248,  252,  258,  284,  313. 


R. 

Rachmaninoff,  272,  281-6,  293, 
301,  321. 

,  "Aleko,"  284,  286. 

,Bohemiancaprice,  285. 

,    "Covetous  Knight," 

286. 

,  "Fate,"  286. 

■ — ,  fir.st  symphony,  285. 

,    "  Francesca    da   Rim- 
ini," 286. 

,  "  Island  of  the  Dead," 


285 

,  "Lilacs,"  286. 

,  "Moments  Musicaux," 

285. 

,  piano  duets,  286. 

■,  piano  preludes,  286. 

,  piano  suites,  286. 

— — ,    prelude    in    C    sharp 
minor,  284. 

-,  second  piano  concerto. 


284. 


28r 


284. 

,  second  symphony,  285. 

,   sonatas,   285-6. 

"  Spring  "     cantata, 

-,  "The  Bells,"  286. 
-,  "The  Rock,"  285. 
-,  third  piano  concerto, 

,  trio,  285. 

,  variations  on  theme  of 

Chopin,  286. 
Ralston,  222. 
Ra.skolniks,  151,  153. 
Ravel,  165,  314. 
Rebikoff,  305-6. 
,      "Christmas     Tree." 

305-6. 

,    "  Melo-mimics,"    306. 

,    "  Psychological   Sket- 


ches," 305. 

,  ''Storm."  306. 

,  "Thea,"  306. 

.     "  Woman     with     the 


Dagger,"  306. 
Repin,  177,  247. 
Riabinin,  132. 


344  A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 


Ricliepin,  83. 

Rimskv-Korsakoff,  2,  38,  42, 
63-5 ."^  70-1,  88,  91,  94-5,  100, 
103-4,  108-7,  113,  127,  130, 
132,  141,  146,  150,  164-5, 
179-236,  239-40,  242,  245-9, 
251,  253,  256-7,  262,  265, 
269,  272-3,  275,  282-3,  289, 
293,  301,  303,  305,  307, 
313-4,  316,  318-20. 


,  '' Antar,"  104,  189-91. 

,   Belaieff  quartet,   106. 

,      "  Capriccio     Espag- 

nole,"  200-1. 

,    "Christmas   Eve   Re- 


vels," 206-8. 

,  "  Doom  of  Gleg."  235. 

,  "  Doubiiioushka,"  235. 

-,     "Easter"     overture, 


203. 
218. 


first    symi)lioiiy,    189, 

folk-song     collection 
(Op;  24),  193. 

-,  folk-songs  for  chorus, 


235. 


-,  "Ganges,"  235. 

,  "Gloria,"  235. 

,  "  Golden  Cock,"  230-3, 

318,  322. 

,     "Kitej,"    227,    236, 

239,  300. 

,     "Koshchei."     221-4. 

227,  291,  314. 

-,  "Mlada,"  203-6.  208, 


219,  221-2,  318. 

,  Mme..  130,  194. 

,  "  Mozart  and  Salieri," 


213-4,  220,  234. 

,  "Night,"  235. 

,     "Night     in     May, 


195-7,  212. 

/"Nymph,"  235. 

,  oriental  song,  235. 

,       "Pan      Yovevoda," 


224-7. 
,  piano  concerto,  200. 


Rimsky-Korsakoff,  "  Pskovi- 
tianka  "  ("Ivan  the  Ter- 
rible "),  63,  186-9,  194, 196, 
212-6. 

,  quartet,  193. 

,     "Rose    enslaves    the 

Nightingale,"  235. 

Sadko "      (opera). 


208-11,   216,   221,   224,   230, 
289,  318. 

Sadko  "  (symphonic 


poem),  183-4,  192. 

-,  "Scheherazade, 


201-2. 

.  second  svmphony,  190. 

-,   "Servilia,"  219,  221, 


227. 


Sinfonietta  on  Rus- 


sian Themes,"  193. 
,       "  S  11  o  w  m  a  i  d  e  n 


("Snegourochka").     197-9, 
208.  224,  227,  230,  316. 

,  symphonic  tale  ( * '  Russ- 


ian and  Ludmilla  "),  194. 
-,    "Tsar   Saltan,"    208, 


216-8,221,224,227,230,318. 
,    "  Tsar's    Betrothed, 


211-2,  216. 

-,   third  symphony,   193, 


199. 


214-6. 


Vera    S  h  e  1  o  g  a," 
violin  fantasia,  201. 


Ristori,  50. 

Ropartz,  290. 

Rosen.  Baron,  16. 

Roussel,  300.  ' 

Rubini,  24. 

Rubinstein,    A.,    14,    50,    77, 

83-4,  120,  186,  242,  247,  252, 

261-3.  271-2. 
,    "Demon,"    186,   271, 


319. 


274-5. 
Rurik,  68. 


N.,  83,  199,  262,  272, 


INDEX. 


345 


Sac-IiiKJVskv,   331. 

Safonoff.    200,    275,    291,    293, 

301,  308,  321,  331. 
Schiller,  133,  202. 
Schuitzler,  30(3. 
Schonberg,  292. 
Schiiberth.  46. 
Sclnimann,    77,    79,    122,    149, 

259,  204,  301. 

,  "Carnival."  250. 

Schoberlechner.  31. 

Scriabin,  3,  282,  292-8,  305-6. 

,  first  sj^mphonv,  294. 

,  "Mystery,"  297. 

,  piano  concerto,  294. 

,  piano  sonata,  297-8. 

.    "Poem   of    Ecstasy," 


295. 
294. 


Poenie    Satanique,' 


,  "  Prometheus,"  295-8. 

.  second  symphony,  294. 

,    string   quartet   move- 
ment, 298. 

■ ,  third  symphony,  294. 

Seniloff.  332.  "^ 

Seroff,  28,  45-56,  75,  92-3,  146. 

206,  262-3,  272. 
,  "'  Ave  Maria,"  55. 

"Christmas  Eve  Re- 

55. 

'Christmas  Song,"  55. 

•'  Hopak,"  55. 

"Judith,"  50,  53,  55, 


^Is,' 


262. 


262. 


'  Nero,"  55. 
PoAver  of  Evil," 
•Rogneda,"   53. 


54-5. 
146, 

'  55. 


.    ''  Stabat  Mater, 

,  "  Storm,"  55. 

,  "  Zaporogues'  Dance,' 

55. 
Shakovsky,  28. 
Shaliapin.  285. 
Shaw.  142,  147,  268. 
Shcherbatcheff.  333. 
Slichigleff.  88-9. 


Shchourowskv,  207. 

Sheremetieff"  (Count).  320. 

Shestakoff,  131,  183. 

Slievchenko,  128. 

Sibelius,  54,  144. 

Siloti.  283-4,  321.  332. 

Skobeleff,  77. 

Sokoloff,  250.  332. 

Solovieff.  55,  207. 

Sophia  (Empress).  154. 

Spendiaroff,  332. 

Spontini,  60 

Sta.ssoff.  45,  68.  71.  94,  99, 
119-20.  140.  146.  150-1, 
154-5,  168,  174.  247,  263. 

Steinberg.  283.  307-8. 

,  quartet,  307. 

.  second  svmphonv,  308. 

Strauss.  292,  296-7. 

Stravinsky.  3,  165.  222,  235, 
282,  292.  311-6. 

,  cantata,  316. 

,  "Cloister,"  316. 

.  "CroAvningof  Spring." 

315. 

,  "  Faun  and  Shepherd- 
ess." 313. 

"Firebird,"       222, 
313-4. 

,  "Fireworks,"  313. 

.  Japanese  songs.  316. 

,    "Nightingale,"  313. 

.  "Pastorale,"  313. 

;   "Petroushka."  314-5. 

Scherzo      Fantas- 


tique,"  313. 

•  Song  of  the  Dew," 


316. 


-,  song  (Verlaine),  316. 
Stravinsky,  F.  I..  312. 
Streltsy.  154. 
Stroganoff  (Princess),  13. 
Sue,  76. 


Tamburini,  33. 
Taneieff,  A.  S..  235.  333. 

Aleosha   Popovich," 


302. 


24 


346 


A    SHORT   HISTORY   OF   RUSSIAN   MUSIC. 


Taneieff,  S.  I.,  200.  247,  274-7, 
283,  287,  293,  299. 

,  "Orestes,"  276. 

,  piano  trio,  276. 

,  quartets,  276. 

,  quintets,  276, 

,  string  trio,  276. 

Tchaikovsky.  2,  11,  26,  45,  51-3. 
59,  64,  67-70,  72,  79.  81-4,  92, 
184,  191-3,  197,  199.  206,  241, 
243,  247,  257,  259-67,  269-70, 
272-5,  281,  285,  287,  290. 

,  '^Fatiim,"  69. 

,  "lolanthe,"  291. 

,  Malo-Russian  sym- 
phony,  194. 

— ,  •'  Mazeppa,"  265,  290. 

,  '•  Opritchnik."  84. 

overture,  "  1812,"  59, 


270/272. 
,       ■'  Pathetic  "       svm- 

phonv,  257.  270,  272.  300-1, 

319. 
,  "Romeo  and  Juliet," 

67,  194.  257. 
,      "  Vakoula 


("Ox- 
ana's  Caprice  "),  206-7. 
Tcherepnin,  235.  252.  304-5. 

■ ,   "  Baba-Yaga,"  305. 

,  "  Dramatic  Fantasia." 


30i 


304-5. 


Macbeth."  305. 
Menaceus,"  305. 
Xarcisse."  304-5. 
Pavilion  d'Armicle,' 


,  "  Princess  Lointaine,' 

305. 
TiniakofF,   333. 
Tioutcheff,  305.  310. 
Titoif,  5. 
Tolstoi,  A.,  13,  301,  304. 

,  L.,  109. 

— .  Th..  1-16. 

Tourgenieff,  291. 
Trediakovskv,  4-5. 
Tsereteli   (Prince),  227. 
Tumeneff,  212,  224. 


300. 


V. 

Variations  on  Russian  theme, 

250,  298. 
Vassilenko,  282,  299-300,  321. 

,  "Au  Soleil,"  299-300. 

— ,  epic  poem,  300. 

,  "Kitej."  299. 

— ,    "Garden   of   Death." 

300. 

,  Symphony  (G  minor), 

-,  "Whirlpool,"  300. 

,  "WidoAv,"  300. 

Vendredis  (quartet),  248,  250. 
Vereshchagin,  169. 
Verlaine,  316. 
Verstovskv.  7-8. 

,  "Tomb  of  Askold,"  7. 

Virchow,  177. 

Visin,  von,  43. 

Vogue,  de,  11. 

Volkoff.  5. 

,  "  Taniousha,"  5. 

W. 

Wagner,  40.  45,  48-50,  52-4, 
60,  101,  108.  142,  164,  180, 
221,  292,  294,  296,  303. 

,   "Parsifal,"  227,  318. 

-,  "Rienzi,"  60. 

,  "Ring."  296. 

Walsesg  rCount),  213. 

Weber;  48. 

Weingartner.   100. 

Wielhorski.  13. 

Wihtol.   235.  282,  320.  333. 

Willborg.  309. 

AVood,  2,  245. 

Z. 

Zaremba,  146. 
Zelenskv,  334. 
Zikke.  256. 
Zimin,  233.  318-9. 
Zolotareff.  334. 
Zviereff,  283. 


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\ 


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